


Persona S: Summer's Shadow

by TombstoneTTromboners



Category: Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Action/Adventure, Crossover, F/F, F/M, Gen, Post-Canon, Romantic Fluff, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-10-25 05:05:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 74,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10757289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TombstoneTTromboners/pseuds/TombstoneTTromboners
Summary: Akira Kurusu returns to Tokyo for summer vacation only to be haunted by dreams of the world facing the threat of ruin once more, and for him and the rest of the Phantom Thieves to be pulled into the workings of a mysterious organization they know only as the "Shadow Operatives".In the meanwhile, Ken Amada just wanted to start living a normal, quiet life. He never should have befriended Futaba Sakura. Maybe then he wouldn't have gotten pulled into helping the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.





	1. A Shadow over Summer

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! I'm glad you decided to click on through to my fic here and check it out, I hope you enjoy it! I just wanted to go over a few little notes before we start:
> 
> \- Persona 3 was never concretely set anywhere, but Iwatodai and Tatsumi Port Island are very similar to/likely based off areas in Tokyo (Minato and Odaiba respectively). I don't think Tokyo was ever mentioned in P3, so I decided for the purposes of my story, why not just say it's in Tokyo? Of course, there might be some damning piece of contradicting evidence somewhere, but I hope you can suspend your disbelief for me. It'd be much appreciated.
> 
> \- From my calendar comparisons and guesswork, while P5 just gives us "20XX", my guess is it takes place in 2016, while the epilogue goes into 2017. This won't be a major point, but it's to give you an idea of how I envisioned the time-frame in regards to certain characters and where they would be now.
> 
> \- Akira and Ken will mostly take the spotlight throughout this story, it being told from their respective perspectives, with some shifts here and there. Ken especially I thought would be an interesting subject with what he did when he was a kid and how he had to grow up with that. He actually ended up stealing the spotlight quite a bit for this first chapter, but I hope to have Akira feature more prominently in the next.
> 
> \- The P3 movies have influenced what I consider the canon events of those games, so expect that to leak in a bit.
> 
> Anyway, I hope these notes weren't too ridiculous and scare you off. Hopefully I'll see you again at the bottom!

_“...Welcome back to the Velvet Room.”_

 

It had been several months since Akira Kurusu had last heard that nasally voice. He had only heard it ever briefly, but it had left an impression. His vision felt blurred, filled with nothing but blue velvet.

“It’s been some time trickster,” A far more familiar voice greeted him. “But also not long enough.”

His vision cleared, enough for him to finally see the familiar face of Lavenza, who he had once known as Caroline and Justine, greeting him with her big golden eyes, but a sad-looking smile.

“You completed your rehabilitation and saved your world from ruin with flying colors,” Igor chuckled, staring up at Akira from his tented hands. “As expected of the Wild Card.

“...We do not call you back here for no reason though.”

“It is as my master says,” Lavenza frowned at him. “I wished for you to live your life in peace from here on, but your fate will soon become intertwined within those of others once more.

Lavenza stopped herself, staring down at her feet before looking back up to Akira. “Your world hinges on ruin once more, a great seal being threatened and an old danger looms.”

“Of course,” Igor grinned at him. “You have proven yourself to be beyond even my expectations of the Wild Card’s potential and as always, we will aid you, like we have time and time again.”

Lavenza smiled at Akira, still sad but with warmth. “I still hold faith in you trickster, that you and your compatriots will be able to save the world from ruin once more. Now go and return to the waking world… And remember this dream.”

* * *

 “Hey, are we there yet?” A voice questioned Akira, stirring him awake. “Hey wake up!”

“Morgana…” Akira groaned, rubbing his temples. “Can you at least let me sleep on the train?”

The cat poked his head from the bag on Akira’s lap, glaring at him. “Well you don’t gotta stay cooped up in a bag the whole trip! I’ve been in here for hours!”

“We should almost be to Yongen-Jaya,” The young man replied, pushing two fingers against the cat’s forehead, “and you have to stay in the bag.”

“Well let me get another minute of air at least,” Morgana growled, pushing back against his hand.

The cat let out a sigh. “It’s nice to finally go back to Tokyo though huh? Your hometown’s nice and all, but it’s pretty boring.”

“I thought you liked taking cat naps all day,” Akira jostled the cat’s ears. “Not to mention how much my mom dotes on you.”

“I mean, can you blame her, I am pretty great,” Morgana sneered. “I missed the hustle and bustle of city life though!

“Not to mention,” Morgana looked up at Akira with a far more genuine smile (or at least as much as one a cat could give.) “It will be great seeing everyone again. I’ve missed them… Even dumb Ryuji.”

“It’s only been a couple of months,” Akira gazed out the window. “But it feels like it’s been ages. It will be good to get to spend summer vacation with them.”

“I’m sure they’ll be surprised to see us too!” Morgana exclaimed. “We’re coming a full week ahead of schedule after all! Just in time for their end of the term party.”

“I’ve been keeping an eye on our old Phantom Thieves group chat and they don’t seem to suspect anything yet,” Akira replied, looking down at the cat once more. “Sojiro hasn’t let it slip to them."

Akira reached up and pinched at his cheek. “Of course even though I told Sojiro we were coming a week earlier then expected, I hope we didn’t inconvenience him in getting things ready.”

“I’m sure the Chief’s just as excited to see us as we are him and the rest of the gang!” Morgana exclaimed, poking his head out further. “Or well, I’m sure he’ll be excited to see _me_ at least.”

Akira glared down at the now smug looking cat before pushing down on his head once. “Back in the bag Morgana.”

“Ow ow ow fine,” Morgana whined as he retreated back into the darkness of the bag. “You don’t have to push me so hard.”

* * *

 Not too long after, Akira found himself stepping out of the station at Yongen-Jaya and back in the familiar back alleys he had called home for a year, and home _is_ what it felt like, the familiar feeling of the warm summer sun coming down onto Tokyo, the chirping of cicadas from the little overgrown patches of grass coming through the old concrete and gardens, the cozy little community he had found here, and the cat riding around on his back.

“It’s good to be home,” Morgana echoed Akira’s thoughts, peering over his shoulder. “I wonder if the Chief’s got much business today.”

“Probably not,” Akira responded, looking back at the cat on his shoulder. “Summer vacation’s just starting after all.”

The two quickly made their way, facing the familiar door to the place they had lived for over a year, the sign with “Cafe Leblanc” still ever in place. Akira looked up at the sign with a smile before pushing the door open, hearing the bell sounding off his entrance as the rich aroma of coffee and cooking curry filled his nostrils and the ever familiar smirk of the goateed face he had gotten to known all too well.

“Hey kid,” Sojiro smirked at him as he came into the cafe. “Long time no see.”

Akira strolled in and over to the counter, grinning at him. “Hey Sojiro. Same to you.”

“Hey there Chief!” Morgana popped out of Akira’s bag, leaping to a nearby seat as he exclaimed at the middle-aged man.

“You know, I still don’t understand a word you’re saying cat,” Sojiro sighed before reaching out and giving the feline a pat on the head. “But it’s good to see you too.”

Morgana let out a purr, rubbing against Sojiro’s hand before the man pulled his hand back and turned his focus back to Akira. “You got here just in time, Futaba should be getting back from her school’s end of term ceremony soon -"

Sojiro smirked and shook his head. “I still can’t believe she’s going to school now. She’s really come far.”

“She’s going over to Gekkoukan right?” Akira asked. “Over in Iwatodai?”

“Yeah, it’s a pretty good school,” Sojiro replied, as he started to move some dishes over to the sink. “Funded by that Kirijo Group I’ve heard.

“I shouldn’t be surprised she got into a good school,” Sojiro chuckled. “She’s always been bright, just like her mom. She’s even on the student council now, I’m real proud of her.

“I do sorta miss seeing her around all day though,” Sojiro let out a sigh and looked wistfully into space.

“Well hey, it is summer vacation now,” Akira shrugged. “You’ll get to see both of us all the time again for a-”

“YOOOO SOJIROOOOO,” A voice shouted in as the entrance bell rang. “You best got that curry a cooking because I _am_ hun...gry...”

Futaba came into Leblanc her usual energetic self, outfitted in a school uniform with a yellow armband marked with “Student Council”, her long orange hair blowing behind her as she pushed the door open. She immediately trailed off, staring in a stupor as she saw who was there. Akira gave her a timid wave as she stared straight at him in surprise.

He then immediately had to put all his strength into keeping himself from falling over as Futaba sprinted right over to him and leapt at him in a huge hug.

“You’re back!” Futaba clinged to him, shaking Akira back and forth. “Wait, you’re not supposed to be back for another week! Well whatever, you’re back!”

Akira groaned trying to keep himself up. “Futaba, you’re light… But not that light.”

“Huh? Oh. Oh!” Futaba exclaimed, putting her feet back on the ground realizing she had literally jumped into his arms. “Sorry.”

Akira let out a sigh, but heard a little bit of nervous laughter peeking over Futaba to see someone else in a Gekkoukan High uniform who had followed in after her. Some brown haired young man he didn’t recognize, just a little taller then Futaba and with a matching yellow armband.

“Hey, who’s that?” Akira looked over at mystery student then Futaba.

“Oh that’s Amada-senpai!” Futaba exclaimed, dragging Akira over to him, much to both of their surprises. “He’s my school’s student council president, and also my very good friend.”

“Oh yeah, I think I remember you mentioning him before,” Akira pondered, remembering Futaba mentioning in the Phantom Thieves chat that she was ‘hanging out with Amada-senpai’ and other variants upon that.

“My full name’s Ken Amada,” He said, reaching a hand out to Akira. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Akira smiled, reaching his hand out to shake his. “I’m Akira Kurusu.”

“So, is he your _boyfriend_?” Morgana sneered, snickering at Futaba.

Futaba slowly turned to Morgana with a death glare, slowly reaching out to him, Morgana promptly shrieking in pain as she pulled hard at his cheeks.

Ken pulled his hand away right before Akira reached it and covered his mouth as he erupted into a coughing fit. Akira looked in surprise at Ken Amada as he finished coughing and spoke up once more.

“Oh, sorry, something in my throat, uh,” He looked sheepishly back and forth at Akira, Sojiro, and Futaba before speaking up once more. “I just remembered I have to make a call real quick. I’m gonna step out for a second.”

Ken excused himself and quickly backed out the door as he pulled out his phone. Akira was getting a weird vibe from him, something he couldn’t shake off, before he could ponder it any further though, Futaba grabbed him by the arm again and started dragging him toward the attic stairs.

“Cmon, you gotta put your stuff away,” She grinned up at Akira as he let her pull him along, “and we gotta catch up! You gotta tell me what you’ve been up to!”

“Hey don’t you wanna know what I’ve been up to too?” Morgana howled after them giving chase.

As they disappeared from his sight, Sojiro shook his head with a smirk as he got back to work. It really was starting to feel like home again.

* * *

 Ken Amada had just heard a cat talk. Well he already knew the cat was going to talk, but that didn’t change the fact he wasn’t expecting it. Especially not right now. He knew the cat could only be heard by Persona users and Futaba didn’t know he was a Persona user. None of them were supposed to know, being a regular student was his cover after all.

He let out a tired sigh as he found a corner away from prying eyes across from Leblanc, a small dingy laundromat serving exactly that purpose, and quickly scrolled through his phone contacts. Ken had to talk to the person who got him into this mess in the first place because he decided to do her a favor. As he did so, he remembered just what had happened to lead him down this path back in spring, right before the current semester begun and as he did, he landed on the name he was calling.

Mitsuru Kirijo.

_Several months ago…_

 

It had been a while since Ken Amada had seen Mitsuru Kirijo, but he had known her since he was 10 years old and she was one of his closest friends. So when she invited him to a private lunch because she wanted to discuss something of importance with him, he of course accepted the offer even though he had left the Shadow Operatives several years ago so he and Koromaru could lead more peaceful lives - but he did want to eventually return to the organization.

So it was then after a filling lunch he found himself seated in the personal office of Mitsuru, up in her very fancy penthouse apartment in the middle of Tokyo, his albino Shiba Inu friend donning the old orange hoodie Ken had worn as a child seated obediently next to him. It looked up at him, its tail wagging away.

“You get enough to eat boy?” Ken smiled back at Koromaru, petting his head.

Koromaru gave an affirmative bark as Mitsuru looked up from the papers she was sorting through on the desk with a smile, her long red hair ever draped over her left eye.

“So how’s Koromaru doing?” She asked, peering down at the dog. “He’s starting to get up in years right?”

“Yeah, but he’s still as full of energy as ever,” Ken smiled, looking back up at her. “Thanks for helping me get him to stay with me in dorms by the way.

“Besides that,” Ken looked over at Mitsuru with a far more serious look, “I imagine you didn’t just ask me over to ask how Koromaru is doing.”

“Of course,” Mitsuru sighed and frowned as she continued, bringing up something far less pleasant. “It’s about Christmas.”

Ken felt a chill down his spine as she said _“Christmas.”_   This wasn’t about the holiday in general or next Christmas. This was about last Christmas, just a few months prior, or more appropriately, when the world almost ended. When a giant godlike being calling itself Yaldabaoth towered over Tokyo, as the very world melted around their eyes and horrors surrounded people at every turn.

Ken Amada was ashamed to admit he was terrified. Absolutely terrified. It was just him and Koromaru as the Shadows drew in ever closer. He hadn’t felt that scared since he was a child and saw the Fall happening from up close, and this time, there wasn’t someone to sacrifice themselves to seal it all away.

At least that what’s he had thought, but then _they_ showed up. He had heard of them of course, as they became all the rage in Japan and then as they descended into infamy - the Phantom Thieves of Heart. Ken was a skeptic, thinking it was all just some show with them at first but he had never expected them to be Persona users. He never saw them personally of course, but it had been impossible to miss the call that echoed through the sky of “Satanael!” and what had been the largest Persona he had ever seen come into existence, a demonic overlord with even more might then Yaldabaoth and the thunderous gunshot that blew a hole straight through the god’s head and split the very sky apart.

With that, it was all over, the world returned to normal as if nothing had even happened and the general public not even realizing it. Just like with the Fall and the Dark Hour, they had forgotten for their own good, the memories shoved into a deep part of their subconscious to keep their sanities intact and the Phantom Thieves of Heart became nothing but myth once more.

Ken remembered of course. Anyone with a Persona would remember, such was their curse. He got a hold of his nerves and looked back up at Mitsuru though. “What about Christmas?”

“Well first,” Mitsuru pushed a file toward him, “take a look at this.”

Ken picked it up and skimmed through it. He wasn’t too sure what was important about it, reading the name “Futaba Sakura” at the front of it and a picture of the girl - she was a bit odd looking, but she was cute. Only a year younger than him though she looked ridiculously tiny. The file seemed to have her medical history, her residence, guardian, and other such general information.

“So why are you showing me this?”

“She’s enrolling at Gekkoukan High as a second year at the start of next semester in several weeks,” Mitsuru replied and steepled her fingers. “She’s also a member of the Phantom Thieves.”

“I dunno why a random new student at Gekkoukan would be important to me -” Ken murmured, before the last thing Mitsuru said sunk in. “Wait what?”

“I’m fairly sure she’s their technical expert and navigator,” Mitsuru continued, disregarding Amada’s bewilderment. “A similar role that I filled for us back during our days in school until Fuuka joined us.”

“Wait, you’re saying this girl is a member of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts?” Ken ignored what Mitsuru was saying as he wildly pointed at the file.

“Well not just that,” Mitsuru glanced at him, flipping her bangs away from her eyes. “I’m fairly sure she was one of their targets once.”

“I…” Ken stammered before he let out a sigh and submitted. “Okay then. So what is it you need me to do?”

“I know you’re no longer a part of the Shadow Operatives,” Mitsuru began, giving Amada a sympathetic look, “but I was hoping you could keep an eye on her.

“You’ll be going into your third year as the new student council president though, on top of studying for your entrance exams,” Mitsuru continued. “You don’t need to accept this, but I would very much appreciate it. I would ask Aigis, but I already have her observing some other members of these Phantom Thieves of Hearts.”

“It’s just keeping an eye on her right?” Ken sighed, scratching the back of his head. “Nothing crazy, I don’t need to fight any Shadows or evil gods or anything like that?”

“Correct,” Mitsuru nodded. “At least I’d hope not.”

“Sure then,” Ken agreed, leaning back in his chair. “I can keep an eye on her, it probably won’t be too hard.”

Koromaru finally let out another bark after all the conversation, Ken glanced over at him as he did. “Koromaru says he’ll help too, of course.”

Mitsuru let herself a cheerful little giggle. “Thank you very much Koromaru.”

Ken looked back at the file - at this “Futaba Sakura” - then back to Mitsuru. “So, why do you want an eye kept on the Phantom Thieves?”

“I suppose you can consider it a professional curiosity,” She smirked at the young man. “I’d like to know the quality of their character mostly.”

The two would discuss further, but Ken pulled his mind back to the present, his gaze fixed on the name _Mitsuru Kijiro_ glowing softly on his phone.

 _“Keep an eye on her”_ is what he should have just done. Instead he ended up becoming friends with her, made her a member of the student council because her computer expertise was actually incredibly helpful, and she’d become invaluable to him in more ways than one.

He pressed call, and let his phone ring away.

* * *

 “So how’d you meet Amada?” Akira Kurusu looked over at Futaba as he placed his bag down onto the old bed he had been on all last year and sat down next to it.

Futaba looked back at him as she ran a hand over top of the old CRT he had a bought last year, a cloud of dust rising up and straight into her face. She coughed before waving it away. “Oh, he helped me out a bunch when I first got to Gekkoukan. I was super lost, especially since I haven’t been in like, regular school since elementary.

“We ended up actually becoming friends pretty quick after that,” Futaba pondered, before she strolled over and sat down next to Akira. “He also convinced me to join him on the student council, which I thought would be pretty lame, but I’ve actually been enjoying it.”

Futaba let herself a little snicker before looking at Akira with a smirk. “He’s also a huge fan of Featherman R but he’ll barely admit it to anyone. I managed to pry it out of him though, but don’t tell him I told you.

“Enough about me though!” Futaba exclaimed, pointing a finger at Akira. “What have you been doing these past couple months?”

“Not as much as you,” Akira replied. “School mostly, not a lot goes down in the country.

“This is my final year though,” He continued. “So I’ve been getting ready for entrance exams. I’ll probably go to a school here in Tokyo, so it will be a lot easier to see you guys from now on.”

Futaba smiled at the thought and pulled her feet up onto the bed, assuming the sitting position Akira was more used to seeing her in. She then turned to him once more a thought coming to mind. “Oh hey, you should come to Akihabara with me and Ken tomorrow!”

“What’s going on in Akihabara?” Akira asked as he pulled his bag open and started sorting through the contents.

“Oh nothing except that my FAVORITE Pink Argus is gonna be there doing signings tomorrow,” Futaba exclaimed, her voice filled with excitement. “Yukari Takeba, from the rare series run when Pink Argus was the team leader. She’s incredible!

“Not to mention Ken’s got an in!” Futaba continued feverishly. “He told me she apparently babysitted him when she was in high school or something like that, at least that’s what he told me.

“Ooh ooh! Ken also said he’d bring his dog,” Futaba continued rambling, Akira smiling at her as she did. “He has this super cute Shiba Inu named Koromaru and he’s sooo soft, you gotta meet him.”

“Sure then,” Akira let out a little laugh and shrugged. “I just hope I won’t be too much of a third wheel.”

“Huh, what?” Futaba raised an eyebrow. “Why would you be a ‘third wheel’?”

“I know you got mad at Morgana for teasing you earlier there,” Akira answered, “but it does sound like you guys are sorta a thing. Don’t worry I won’t tell Soji-”

“Huh?! What?! No no!” Futaba shook her head back and forth. “We’re not! Amada-senpai is just my friend!

“I mean I guess I am being pretty loose with addressing him formally right now, but he doesn’t mind me calling him by his first name,” Futaba pouted and crossed her arms. “But we’re just good friends! That’s all!

“Besides that,” Futaba nervously looked over at Akira and blushed. “There’s actually somebody else I already like… Don’t tell Sojiro that though!”

Akira patted her on the head and gave her a warm smile. “Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.”

He looked at his phone for a second before looking back at Futaba. “You look cute in a school uniform by the way.”

“Shutup!” Futaba’s face turned red as she swiveled away from him. It quickly returned to normal as another voice poked in.

“I bet I can guess who that somebody you like issss,” A teasing meow came up from the steps, Morgana casually strutting in with a big cheshire grin.

“You know I really missed you too Morgana,” Futaba stood up and slowly walked toward the cat. “It’s a shame you had to ruin it.”

“Wait wait wait - AH LET ME GO!” Morgana screamed as Futaba wrapped him up in her arms and started harassing the poor cat. “PLEASE STOP AAAGH!”

All Akira could do was let himself have a little chuckle at the two of them going at it again.

* * *

 “Mitsuru!” Ken exclaimed as the other end of the line picked up. “Oh, sorry for shouting so loud.

“Yeah, I hope you aren’t too busy, I just uh,” Ken rubbed his temples. “Ran into a tiny issue - the leader of the Phantom Thieves is back already.

“Yeah I know this is a good opportunity for me to get to know all of them better,” Ken hissed into the phone, making sure nobody was watching him, “but he brought back that cat too! Yes the one that talks! Yes, the one only Persona users can hear talk!

“It already caught me by surprise once, I don’t wanna get caught off guard and have them all figure me out,” Ken sighed and listened as the voice came from the other side. “Yeah, yeah I know. I’ll be careful and stick around for a bit.

“Bye Mitsuru,” Ken let out a large sigh and hanged up, somewhat frustrated. He pondered to himself as he stepped out of the dark little corner he had hidden in. Maybe he could just excuse himself now instead - he really didn’t wanna see the fallout if he got discovered now. Just before he could fully consider that course of action, he realized a large group of people were heading right toward him.

“Man, am I glad summer vacation’s finally here,” The bleached-blonde young man in a Shujin uniform let out an exaggerated sigh, walking with a horribly postured gait. “I can only take so many exams…”

“I told you to study Ryuji!” A far more prim and proper brown-haired girl scolded him. “This is your final year in high school, I mean if you do poorly now, what are you going to do about next year?”

“I would think Ryuji would stay in high school forever,” A very tall, pale, and blue haired boy, clad in a Kosei uniform, responded. “It does seem the most fitting place for him.”

“Oh shut up Yusuke!” Ryuji growled at him. “And don’t worry Makoto, I’ll be fine. Easy peasy.”

“Maybe if you don’t leave your summer homework to the last-minute this time…” A girl with blonde pigtails, also in a Shujin uniform, sneered at him.

“I’m sure we can have complete faith in Ryuji!” A very soft-spoken auburn-haired girl spoke up. “I mean he did get to his third year after all!”

This boisterous conversation continued on, Ken Amada was only able to watch in a stupor. As they got closer and their conversation suddenly stopped as they all saw him, he realized his plan to excuse himself was no longer an option. He let out a nervous laugh as they all turned their attention to him in front of Cafe Leblanc. For _now_ ; he was in the sights of the rest of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.

“Hey kid,” Ryuji raised an eyebrow at him. “Who’re you?”

“He’s wearing a Gekkoukan uniform,” Makoto replied. “He must be that friend Futaba’s been telling us so much about - Ken Amada, correct?”

“Uh, yes-”

“Oh you’re the guy!” Ryuji slung an arm over him all of a sudden. “It’s nice to meet you! The name’s Ryuji Sakamoto.”

“I can’t imagine how you put up with her all day,” Yusuke spoke up, nodding at him. “I am Yusuke Kitagawa.”

“I don’t think Futaba’s that bad Yusuke…” Makoto sighed but then looked at Ken with a polite smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Makoto Nijima.”

“Well since we’re all introducing ourselves,” The girl with blonde pigtails pointed her thumb at herself. “I’m Ann Takamaki!”

“I’m Haru Okumura,” The auburn-haired girl - Haru - smiled warmly and gave a polite bow of her head.

Ken, now trapped under the grasp of Ryuji stammered out. “I-It’s nice to meet all of you. Futaba’s told me all about you-”

“Man!” Ryuji shouted, rustling him back and forth. “You’re way shorter than I expected.

“Like what,” He leaned back from him, looking him over. “Are you five foot or something?”

Ken gave him an indignant look and shot back. “No, I’m 5’1”!”

“Eh, close enough,” Ryuji shrugged.

“God Ryuji,” Ann huffed. “You really need to be more polite to people - I mean he’s taller then Futaba at least.”

“Yes, but Futaba stayed inside all the time until recently,” Yusuke pondered. “It makes sense for her to be so short.”

“Can we please stop talking about this?!” Ken shouted. “Why are you all getting so caught up on my height?!”

“I’m so sorry Amada-kun,” Makoto sighed. “They’re always like this.”

“Oh Amada-kun!” Haru exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “Why are you waiting outside anyway? I would have thought you and Futaba would arrive together.”

“Oh, this guy was there when we got here and Futaba was pretty excited so I thought I’d give her a minute,” Ken stretched the truth a bit. “Akira Kurusu or some-”

Upon saying that, Ken saw all of their eyes go wide with surprise and he was dragged along as they pushed into Leblanc together, Ryuji’s arm wrapped around his shoulder despite his own protests. The bell rang once more as the group filed in, Ryuji leading the pack as he pushed Ken along with him.

“Yo Akira,” Ryuji shouted far too loud, “what are you doing back early you son of a bitch?!”

“Geez kid!” Sojiro growled at Ryuji. “Don’t go shouting expletives out loud in my cafe! I don’t need that kinda business.”

“Oh, sorry ‘bout that Boss,” Ryuji chuckled abashedly. “I got a little overexcited-”

Ken could only let out an exasperated sigh as the group become overly boisterous once more as the “famed” Akira Kurusu came stepping down the stairs in the back with a small wave, Futaba and that talking cat pushing him along. He was only granted some relief as Sakamoto finally released him, the whole group flowing around him and they swarmed Akira.

“Man, you’re weren’t suppose to be back for another week!”

“Quite, I would have appreciated if you had stayed on schedule Akira.”

“Oh, but Yusuke, it’s so good to see him again isn’t it?”

Ken could only stare on as the group continued like that, filled with energy and so tightly knit. It had been so long since he had been part of a group like that… It made him a feel slight twang of nostalgia.

“Hey there Amada,” Sojiro leaned over the counter, catching Ken’s attention. “Haven’t got a chance to actually properly introduce myself. Sojiro Sakura.”

“Oh, you’re right,” Ken laughed, turning to face the man. “Ken Amada, it’s nice to meet you Sakura-san.”

“Futaba’s told me all about you,” Sojiro replied as he pulled at his goatee. “I just wanted to say thanks for helping her out so much. I was worried about her going to a new school all alone, but you’ve really helped her along from what she’s told me” - he smirked - “I hope she hasn’t been to much of a problem.”

“Oh, it’s no problem! I consider it a part of my duties as student president council - and she’s been a huge help to me as well.”

“I’m glad that’s the case,” Sojiro continued as he nodded sagely. “I hope you’ll excuse how excited they’re getting. They haven’t seen Akira since March - anyway, I gotta get back to that curry.”

Ken nodded as Sojiro walked back over to the kitchen and turned his attention back to the group - the Phantom Thieves of Heart - only to realize their attention was on him now.

“As Boss said,” Makoto Nijima said as she walked over. “Our thanks are needed for you helping out Futaba so much.”

“Yes, thank you very much Amada-kun!” Haru exclaimed. “She’s a very dear friend of ours after all.”

“Truly you must have the patience of a saint Amada,” Yusuke said.

“Oh shut up Inari,” Futaba fumed, staring straight up at Yusuke, who towered over her. “Well, all of you shut up really, you’re embarrassing the heck outta me!”

She marched forward and grabbed Ken’s arm, pulling him along to a booth. “Now c’mon Amada-senpai!! You gotta try our Sojiro’s curry, it’s soooo good!”

Ken soon found himself boxed into one of Leblanc’s booths, surrounded by the group on all sides and sat right next to Akira and Ryuji. The others filed in as well as they could as well, pulling in stools to crowd around the table. He was well and truly trapped for the rest of the evening.

“So how’s university been going Makoto and Haru?” Akira spoke up.

“Excellently I’d say for myself,” Makoto replied with pride. “It’s hard work but I was prepared for that.”

“It has been very hard work managing it and Okumura Foods,” Haru let out a sad sigh but smiled, “but I _have_ been managing.”

“Oh, so you _are_ that Okumura” - Ken interjected - he hadn’t been told as much about the other Phantom Thieves as he had Futaba but he had his assumptions - “Oh erm, sorry. I hope that wasn’t too rude.”

“Oh no it’s okay Amada-kun,” Haru reassured him, giving him a bright smile. “You don’t know us so it’s only natural that’d you’d want to find out more. Actually, I’m curious to find out more about you in fact.”

“Oh, well there’s not really that much to tell,” Ken answered. “I’ve lived in the Iwatadoi ward pretty much my whole life and have gone to school there too. I attended Gekkoukan’s elementary and middle schools and I’m now enrolled in their high school.

“I was also in the student council in middle school and headed it up in my final year then as well.”

“Are you perhaps pursuing a career in government or law?” Makoto spoke up and looked at him. “I was student council president back in my last year as well and I’m pursuing law like my father and sister before me now that I’m in university.”

“Yeah, you could say it’s something like that,” Ken replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

These little conversations would continue until Sojiro interjected. “All right, I hope you kids are hungry, because the curry’s all done.”

“Heck yeah I am Sojiro!” Futaba stood up from her seat, pounding her fists on the table.

“I’ve cooked it up at home,” Akira wistfully leaned back as he answered, “but it’s not the same as getting it right from you Sojiro.”

Ken sat back as the plates of curry were put in front of everyone and watched as everyone dug in. It certainly smelled good though so he certainly was excited to try it out. He took a scoop with his spoon and slowly closed his mouth around the concoction. It did taste good, in fact, it tasted really good. It evoked a sense of strange nostalgia in him as he recalled an insignificant day back in the Iwatodai dorms.

* * *

 “Why don’t you cook more Aragaki-san?” Ken asked as he stared up at the much taller Shinjiro. “The curry you’re making smells really good.”

“Stop asking questions if you want some of it then,” Shinjiro shot back, glancing down at the Ken..

Shinjiro Aragaki started pouring some of it into a pair of bowls and carried it to the table. “I just don’t like to do it when others are around. You just happen to be here today.”

“Well Minato-san is here, but he’s been playing a game on his laptop all day.” Ken noted.

“I don’t really get that guy sometimes,” Shinjiro mumbled. “Anyway, feel free to dig in.”

Ken sat down next to him as Shinjiro started eating the curry himself. Ken shoveled it in, realizing he maybe should have waited for it to cool a bit - but it tasted really good. He looked over at Shinjiro once more. “It’s tastes really good Aragaki-san, you should cook for the others sometime-”

“Aragaki-san cooks food for Koromaru all the time.” A robotic monotonous voice came from around the corner, Aigis peering from around the wall.

Shinjiro stopped eating, slowly turning his head in shock at what the robotic girl had just revealed. Ken stopped too, letting the curry he had just shovelled in simmer in his mouth. A happy bark came from the other side of the kitchen as Koromaru waltzed in.

“Koromaru says it is very good,” Aigis translated. “He agrees with Amada-kun and thinks you should also cook food for the rest of the team as well.”

Shinjiro let out a ragged sigh, maintaining his tough guy composure. “No. None of you mention this, or else.

“I’ll tell the others you get up early to watch Featherman R if you say anything kid,” Shinjiro teased.

“Wait, how do you know that!?” Ken yelped, shooting up to attention in his chair. “I thought I was keeping it pretty well hidden…”

“And I’ll figure out some dirt on you,” He glared at Aigis.

“Why do you not make these threats toward Koromaru?” Aigis asked, oblivious as ever.

“Well uh,” Shinjiro stammered. “Because he’s just a dog, so I don’t have to worry about him.”

Koromaru barked once more and Aigis looked at him as she translated once more. “He says it’s because you love him the most.”

Shinjiro shot up from his chair in a tizzy, completely flustered and shouting like a madman. “Sh-Shut up! Both of you! All of you!”

He let out a frustrated growl, grabbing his curry and stomping off toward somewhere he could eat alone.

It was a silly memory to recall but it was a pleasant one. A one from before Ken remembered the truth and everything went to hell. As he got older, he wished he could go back to before then, go back and not make the biggest mistake of his life. Ken Amada had long learned though the past was the past and it couldn’t, or shouldn’t, be changed.

* * *

 “Man, you must really not like it,” Ryuji spoke up. “You’re tearing up.”

“Huh?” Ken said with surprise, reaching to his eyes and pulling back damp fingertips. “Oh no, it’s great, I just uh, don’t eat spicy stuff too often.

“It brings back good memories actually,” Ken continued, looking at Sojiro with a smile. “Thank you Sakura-san.”

“Heh, now that’s a pretty good compliment, thanks kid,” Sojiro said with smarmy pride. “You guys could learn a thing or two from him.”

The group continued well into the late evening, Sojiro taking off early as he told Akira to make sure lock the place up after they were all done. Eventually their conversations winded down, Futaba quietly staring away at some late night anime she had tuned into on the TV in the cafe, trying to tell Ken the specifics, while the others sat around discussing. Morgana especially had been oddly quiet most of the night, sleeping away in a separate booth.

“I’m telling you guys, that new transfer student is totally into me!” Ryuji exclaimed. “I’ve seen her checking me out a couple times now.”

“She’s way too cute to be into you,” Ann scoffed, giving Ryuji a look of disbelief.

“It does seem quite farfetched to believe someone would be so willingly” - Yusuke twisted a finger through his long bangs as he replied - “‘checking you out’ as you put it.”

“Maybe she was amazed by how much of a monkey you are,” Morgana piqued in with a yawn, jumping onto the divider between booths, his glowing eyes staring at the senior members of the Phantom Thieves.

“Ah, shut up,” Ryuji grumbled. “I’ll show all of ya in the fall when she totally starts going out with me.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it,” Ann groaned, but then looked over at Makoto and Haru with a sly grin, “but on the topic of love lifes, I wanna know if you two have gotten into anything at university. Any hot older guys?”

“Oh gosh no,” Haru exclaimed. “I’m far too busy for anything like that. Honestly, I’m glad to not have one, especially now that I don’t have to worry about that arranged marriage anymore.”

“So how about you Mako-chan,” Ann turned her focus, pointing a finger at Makoto. “ _Come on_ , give me something good.”

“Well,” Makoto blushed. “I do have this older senpai, he’s quite handsome. He has this beautiful silver hair.”

“Oooh, you gotta give me those deets girls.”

“Well it’s not like I’ve made a move or anything,” Makoto continued. “He’s a few years ahead of me and he’s been a huge help with my studies.

“Unfortunately he went to visit family out in the country for the summer though, so I won’t get to see him again for a while,” Makoto let out a sigh. “I should really try to be a bit more forward though.”

“So you think you’ve finally found yourself a study partner for the test of love?” Akira teased, leaning forward.

“Oh god don’t remind me,” Makoto laughed. “I still can’t believe I said that to you. I’m never gonna live it down am I?”

“Nope,” Akira answered as the group erupted into laughter.

“Yo, so man you doing anything tomorrow?” Ryuji turned to Akira. “We should totally hang if you’re free.”

“I already made plans with Futaba actually,” Akira answered. “Apparently someone who starred in Featherman R will be making an appearance in Akihabara and she asked me to come along.”

“Eh, maybe I’ll come along too, someth-” Ryuji got cut off as he let out a shriek of pain as Ann kicked him in the shins underneath the table. “Goddamn what was that for?!”

“Geez Ryuji, we have something to do tomorrow,” Ann said (lying very badly.) “Don’t you remember?”

“What are you even talk-” Ryuji shrieked again as her foot connected with his shin once more. “God okay fine, you reminded me!”

Akira cocked an eyebrow at the odd display, but let his attention get turned away as Ken walked up to the table, phone in hand.

“It’s getting pretty late, and we’re nearing the last trains,” Ken murmured before looking up at them. “So yeah, I just figured it’s a good time for me to head off.”

“I believe it would be so for the rest of us as well,” Yusuke replied as he also noted the time.

“Oh, I just wanted to say thanks by the way,” Ken spoke up. “I’ve been so focused on school, I’ve not really had a period of just… Hanging out with a huge group of people like this for a really long time. It’s nice.”

“Hey, you’re free to spend time with us anytime you want Amada!” Ann exclaimed. “Any friend of Futaba’s is a friend of ours!”

“Thank you Takamaki. I appreciate the sentiment.”

“Let’s all get heading over to the station then,” Ryuji yawned. “Just let me get my shit.”

“I’ll walk over to the station with you guys then,” Akira said as he got up from his seat.

“I will too!” Futaba shot up from across the room. “Just let me get sorted.”

“I’ll wait for you guys outside then,” Ken replied as he repositioned the bag strapped over his shoulder.

“Oh hey, Amada,” Akira followed after him. “I’ll wait with you. There’s something I wanted to ask you actually.”

The two of them headed out the door, the bell chiming away as the rest of the group went about cleaning up their trash and collecting their things. As they did so Morgana spoke up once more.

“Geez, how dense can you be Ryuji?”

“What?” Ryuji glared back at the talking cat before then turning to Ann as well. “Was that what all the kicking was about?”

“Have you not really realized what’s going on Ryuji?” Ann sighed with annoyance. “Morgana’s right about you being dense.”

“Oh come on, just tell me what’s going on.”

Ann made a sly smirk before turning to look at Futaba. “ _♪Futaba’s got a crush on Akira♪_ ”

Futaba stopped dead in her tracks before she slowly turned around to show her face was beat red. “W-w-w-wh-what?!”

“It has been rather obvious for quite a while,” Yusuke chuckled.

“I noticed it back during March actually,” Makoto added.

“I-is it really that obvious?” Futaba stammered, looking like she was about to fall over. “D-does Akira know?!”

“Joker’s talented in many fields,” Morgana piqued up, “but I’d say the field of love isn’t one of them. He definitely hasn’t, don’t worry.”

Futaba let out a long sigh of relief, the tension disappearing from her body. “Thank god.”

“Goddamn,” Ryuji cursed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he winced, “am I seriously the only who didn’t notice?”

“I’d be more worried if you had honestly,” Morgana sneered at him. “I’d have wondered what happened to the real Ryuji.”

“Ah, shut up you stupid cat.”

“Don’t worry Futaba!” Ann exclaimed, smiling and giving the younger girl two thumbs up. “I got your back in this!”

Futaba laughed nervously, her face turning red once more. “Th-thanks Ann.”

* * *

 Good nights were said, Futaba was walked back home to Sojro’s, and Cafe Leblanc was cleaned and locked up for the evening. Akira let himself fall into bed, his body tired after a long day of travel and socializing. He was very happy to see his friends again after all this time, but his face was lined with concern.

 

_“So what was it you wanted to ask me Kurusu?”_

_“Well… Actually nevermind, it’s not a big deal.”_

 

Akira let out a tired sigh, unable to sleep. He turned his head to the side and noticed a familiar pair of glowing green eyes staring into his.

“So you noticed it too huh?” Morgana spoke up, pacing around him.

“Yeah, of course I did,” Akira replied, his voice filled with concern, “but I just… I don’t wanna worry everyone especially now that we just got back. Let’s just figure this out first, okay?”

“I mean he played a pretty good game,” Morgana continued. “Managed to ignore me for the rest of the night, but he slipped up right at the very start there.”

Akira nodded his head, his eyes tired but still aware. “Ken Amada was able to understand you.”

“Yep,” Morgana replied, giving Akira a serious look. “I know he’s Futaba’s friend and all, but what if that’s just part of some greater plan?”

“I know,” Akira sighed. “He seems nice though, and I don’t wanna move in on this and worry everyone just yet.”

“Akechi seemed pretty nice at first too,” Morgana stated, “but you’re right. We still don’t know the whole situation.

“Let’s get to sleep for the night. You look exhausted.”

* * *

 The ever familiar tones of velvet blue surrounded him once more, Akira finding himself in the Velvet Room once more. Igor peeked up at him, a wide smirk on his face as he drew a tarot card from seemingly nowhere. He looked at it, his smile growing ever wider as he faced it Akira’s way.

“One of the Justice arcana…” Igor chuckled his deep nasally chuckle. “Just like the one you were faced with defeating before.”

“This one feels quite different though,” Lavenza remarked. “It has a certain warmth to it - a true belief in Justice, not corrupted by a cruel and terrible being.”

“Indeed,” Igor interjected. “In fact, he was even an ally of one of our former guests many years ago.”

“I can sense the hesitance in your heart trickster,” Lavenza said with an understanding smile, “but the bonds you form are what will lead to your success, for you to save the world from ruin once more. Remember this and believe that you can trust in him.

_“Now go trickster and return to the waking world.”_


	2. Back in Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira, Futaba, and Morgana go to Akihabara to meet Yukari Takeba, the actress who played Pink Argus in Phoenix Ranger Featherman Victory, so Futaba can get her autograph!
> 
> Things don't go exactly as planned.

_“Remember this and believe that you can trust in him.”_

 Lavenza’s words from his dream last night echoed in Akira Kurusu’s head. His memories of it felt hazy, but he still remembered his visit to the Velvet Room. What her and Igor said distracted him so much he barely cared about how he was getting squished against the wall during this train ride. He only briefly snapped out of it as Morgana poked his head out of the bag he clutched against his chest.

“Hey, something up Futaba?” Morgana asked her, cocking his head at her. Akira had been so spaced out he hadn’t even noticed the frown that had formed on Futaba’s face as she looked down at her phone, even though she was right next to him.

“Amada-senpai texted me and said he can’t make it,” Futaba sighed sadly as she slipped her phone back into her pocket. “He didn’t really say why either.”

She frowned for a moment longer before she puffed out her chest and stood up straight, filled with determination. “Well whatever! We can brave the crowds all by ourselves! Nothing’s gonna stop me from getting Yukari Takeba to sign my complete boxset of Featherman V!”

Akira smiled down at her, remembering how back when he had first come with her to Akihabara and how different she was from back then. Futaba looked up at him with a pout as she realized. “What are you smiling about?!”

“Just remembering how you used to hide behind me whenever you met somebody you weren’t familiar with,” Akira waxed nostalgically as he thumbed his chin.

“S-shut up!” Futaba stammered, turning away from him as her face turned red.

Soon after, the trio would find themselves in the streets of Akihabara and it seemed even busier than usual, making the summer heat even more excruciating and navigating around it a challenge upon itself. Futaba soon led them through to one of the bigger stores of Akihabara, a huge crowd gathered around it and filing inside ever slowly. Akira glanced around at the surprising amount of people in full Featherman cosplay and merchandise all around him, the huge posters featuring the iconic Pink Argus herself plastered on the walls of the building, and then at Futaba who seemed to be vibrating in the spot with how excited she was.

“You’re gonna end up drilling a hole through the ground if you keep that up Futaba,” Morgana teased her, peering at her from Akira’s shoulder.

“I can’t help it,” Futaba exclaimed, before she suddenly struck a pose. “Phoenix Ranger Featherman Victory!”

Akira let out a laugh at the display as Morgana sighed and rolled his eyes. “What a nerdddd.”

“Shut up Morgana!” Futaba fumed at the cat, trying to reach up to him. Much to her and Akira’s dismay, he quickly scaled up the young man’s shoulder and perched atop his head, sticking his tongue out at her as she was unable to reach him.

Futaba let out a sigh and gave up on her planned torment of Morgana, resigning herself to scan the large crowd around them. She spoke up again. “We really shoulda got here earlier. If only you didn’t sleep in so much Akira.”

“Heh, sorry, I do need my beauty sleep after all,” Akira cracked a joke and kept up a smile, not wanting to worry Futaba how he had actually been up most of the night, tossing and turning over what he had found out about Amada last night.

 

_“One of the Justice arcana…Just like the one you were faced with defeating before.”_

_“Akechi seemed pretty nice at first too.”_

_“I can sense the hesitance in your heart trickster.”_

 

Akira let himself get lost in his thoughts once more, flowing along with the steady stream of the crowd that made its way into the building. He thought about the last time he had met someone who had kept the fact they understood Morgana secret, and how it all ended with Akechi. Even Akira’s own feelings about him were conflicted, remembering the plot to kill him, all the mental shutdowns he had caused, but also remembering when they met him in Shido’s palace and how he sacrificed himself to save them all. The words of Igor, of how Amada was apparently yet another of the Justice arcana bounced around in his head along with a singular thought - who was Ken Amada really - and what did Igor mean when he said Ken was an “ally of one of our former guests.”

Almost an hour later, they finally found themselves within the building itself, granting the three of them a much needed reprieve from the harsh sunlight outside. Now that they were actually inside, Akira turned his focus back to what they were actually doing. He noticed a big display set up on the other side of the store, and who he assumed was Yukari Takeba - a woman with short brown hair, dressed in casual clothes but a kind smile on her face as she took a photo with some fans.

“Dang, I was hoping she’d be in costume,” Futaba remarked. “Though it’d probably be really uncomfortable on a day like this, so I can understand that.”

“She’s pretty,” Morgana purred, peeking over Akira’s shoulder.

“She actually used to be a model you know, before she was scouted to play Pink Argus,” Futaba explained. “She was a perfect fit role thanks to her expert skill at archery! You should see some of the trick shots she pulls off in the show and movies!

“I heard they’re even considering bringing her back in the next Featherman series as a mentor character to the new team!” Futaba exclaimed, wringing her hands in excitement. “I hope they do so because I really wanna see her in it again.”

Thus, the waiting began, their group slowly proceeding along, waiting, and waiting… and waiting. As they were finally getting somewhat closer, Akira noticed Takeba suddenly pick up her cell phone, getting up as she answered it. She walked over to one of the event organizers, having some kind of discussion with them before she quickly walked out the back. A murmur of confusion went through the crowd until a voice came on over the store’s intercom.

“Due to unforeseen consequences, today’s event has been cut short,” The voice broadcasted. “ We are sorry for any inconveniences this may cause.”

A wave of disappointment came through the crowd, many slowly filing out with their heads hung low. It was then that Akira looked down at Futaba who looked like she was on the verge of tears.

“B-B-But,” Futaba whimpered. “We were so close.”

Seeing this sad display was enough to tug on Akira’s heartstrings, and he realized how much Futaba had been looking forward to this. He put aside his own concerns for the moment as he thought up a plan to hopefully make it so all this time they spent waiting hadn’t been for naught.

It was mere moments later when both Morgana and Futaba both noticed _that_ smirk on Akira’s face. The one filled with a certain level of smarmy pride that they had seen so many times when they had been acting as the Phantom Thieves. Before either of them could ask, he grabbed a hold of Futaba’s hand and pulled her along with him.

“Come on, I’ve got an idea,” Akira stated.

They went out the store, around the bend, and down an alleyway before arriving at a locked gate in a chain-link fence. Futaba and Morgana hadn’t even had a chance to ask him as he lead them here but as they came to the gate, Futaba finally spoke up.

“What’s going on Akira?” Futaba questioned him. “What are we doing?”

“You really wanted to see Yukari Takeba right?” Akira began. “Judging from where she left, she probably went out a back exit, and if I’m right, we should be able to cut her off if we go through here.

“By the way, you can let go of my hand now.”

Futaba hadn’t even realized she had started squeezing his hand back and let out a squeal as she did, quickly letting go of it as a blush overcame her face.

“Now Morgana,” Akira looked at the cat leaning over his shoulder. “Think you can pick this lock?”

The cat smirked at the question and retorted back pridefully. “Who do you think I am? This lock’s _nothing_.”

* * *

“So you’ve been getting shadow readings from around here?” Yukari Takeba leaned against the alley wall as she talked into her phone. “Or some kind of distortion?

“Don’t worry Mitsuru, I’m fine,” Yukari continued. “I’ve been here all day and haven’t noticed anything actually.

“Is there anything I can do to help or-” Yukari stopped as a voice came over from the other end before she spoke once more. “So you’ve already sent them to look into it.

“Yeah, hopefully it’s nothing,” Yukari nodded to herself. “But I’ll get going anyway, so don’t worry about me, okay Mitsuru?

“Yeah, I miss you too,” Yukari replied back cheerfully. “Hopefully we’ll be able to see each other again soon. Talk to you later.”

Yukari hung up and began to set off - only to stop in her tracks as she was caught by surprise by two figures rounding the corner into the alleyway in front of her; a very tall boy with frizzy dark hair with a cat on his shoulder, and a very short girl with long orange hair, both of them wearing glasses.

Futaba was nearly frozen in place from how nervous she was, faced with the person she was so excited to see. Akira gave her an encouraging pat on the back to help push her forward and Futaba started slowly shuffling toward Takeba as best as she could.

“M-me big fan,” Futaba stumbled over words, tripping all over herself. “I-I-”

She shook her head and took a deep breath, strengthening her resolve. “I just wanted to thank you.

“I watched Featherman V during a really bad time in my life, when everything seemed to be falling apart - it was like the one shining light in my week,” Futaba began, staring Yukari straight in the eyes, “and watching you as Pink Argus, you became my hero. I like to think it’s what made me into the person I am today - someone who’s willing to stand against injustice in the world and protects those she cares about, just like you did!”

Futaba let out a sigh of relief at being able to get all that out with as much composure as she did before she quickly yelped out. “S-so that’s why I was hoping you would sign my complete boxset of Phoenix Ranger Featherman Victory!”

Yukari felt a wonderful warmth through her body, the most genuine smile she had felt in ages forming on her face as she responded to Futaba. “To hear you say all that - a big part of the reason I took the role of Pink Argus was because I wanted to bring happiness to kids’ lives and to hear the impression it had on you - it really means a lot.

“So of course I’ll give you my autograph!” Yukari giggled, pulling a marker out from her bag. “What’s your name, by the way?”

“F-Fu-Futaba Sakura,” Futaba squealed as she pulled the boxset out from her bag and held it out at arm's length. “T-t-t-thank you!”

“No, thank you,” Yukari said, a deep blush overtaking Futaba’s face.

Akira could only look on with a smile as he came to understood how much this had all meant to Futaba and proud of her for being able to say all that. All that waiting had been worth it, more than he could have imagined. Morgana chuckled on his shoulder, playfully teasing Futaba. “Sheesh, what a dork she is.”

Yukari froze in her tracks, her eyes growing wide as she stared straight at Morgana, a small voice emanating from her. “D-did your boyfriend’s cat just talk?”

“M-m-my boyfriend?!” Futaba screamed, extremely flustered, before what else Yukari said quickly set in. “ Wait - you can hear Morgana?!”

Akira’s own eyes grew wide with shock at this twist of events that unfolded before him. He had never expected this, and to think it had happened after what he had figured out about Ken Amada last night. That two times in a row, they would find two separate and different people who could understand Morgana.

“What, how can you hear me -” - Morgana squirmed around on Akira’s shoulder, pulling himself higher - “Are you a Persona user!?”

“How do you know about-” Yukari stammered. “Do you have -  Do all of you have Personas?!”

As this mess continued, a piercing headache shot through Akira’s head bringing one strong desire with it - to check his phone. So he did, slowly pulling it out of his pocket, more shock coming to him as he saw an all too familiar app on it again - the Metaverse Navigator. He was sure it had disappeared once they defeated Yaldaboth - palaces couldn’t exist anymore so there was no need of it anymore. So why was it back now?

His thumb reached out to it, tapping the icon like he had done so many times before and as he did, everyone in the alleyway let out a yelp of pain, terrible aches shooting through their heads. Their visions blacked out for but a moment, but as it faded back in… Akira realized things weren’t how they were supposed to be.

“W-what happened to your clothes?!” Yukari shrieked, pointing at them wildly. “What happened to your cat?!”

Akira quickly reached up to his face, realizing he was no longer wearing his glasses - instead he felt the old familiar feeling of the mask he had worn time and time again as Joker - in fact he was in full costume . He quickly noticed Futaba as well was in her full outfit she had worn as Oracle, skintight with neon green lines coursing around it, the giant set of goggles with huge orange lenses over her head once more. He then felt the weight on his back, glancing back to see the face of Morgana’s old mascot-like form, filled with as much shock as the rest of them.

The weight against his shoulder was relieved as Morgana leapt to the ground in front of him and began speaking. “I never thought I’d be walking on two legs again…

“That’s besides the point though - this shouldn’t be possible!” Morgana shouted, looking around at the group and their surroundings. “When we destroyed Yaldaboth, we destroyed the Metaverse and the very existence of Palaces! So how are we in one now?!”

Futaba glanced at Morgana with a grimace before quickly turning to Yukari with confusion. “Wait, if you have a Persona, Takeba-san, why didn’t your clothes change?”

“You guys got outfits with your Personas?!” Yukari blurted, even more confused then Futaba. “We didn’t have that happen - no other Persona users I’ve met have ever had that happen!”

“‘We’?” Futaba questioned, cocking her head at Yukari. “You know even more people with Personas?”

Before Yukari could answer, Morgana jumped up between the two, interrupting the both of them with a mighty shout. “We don’t got time for all this back and forth! We need to find a way out of here and then we can talk about all this!

“Joker, can you get into the Meta-Nav app?” Morgana called over to Akira, immediately getting back into the swing of things.

Akira looked back down at his phone at Morgana mentioning that to see if the app would let them out at the same place they got in as it did before. He pressed it, activating the app once more - only for an error sound to play in response.

“Oh great,” Morgana sighed. “So we’re gonna have to find out where we can exit from.”

“Oracle,” Akira said, looking over to Futaba. “If we can get a lay of the land, you can find us an exit right?”

“I-is all of this really happening again?” Futaba muttered, the brief rush from her curiousity starting to wear off, but refocused as she heard Akira. “Yeah, once we know what’s actually going on, I should be able to figure things out… Hopefully.”

Akira nodded, before he looked to Yukari. “Takeba-san, if you do have a Persona, can we count on your support?”

“No, unfortunately,” Yukari lamented, leaning back against the wall dejectedly. “For me to summon my Persona, it requires this tool called an Evoker. There _was_ one time I was able to do it without it, but it was a weird situation, and I’m trying to do the same right now - but it doesn’t seem to be working.”

“Agh, that’s gonna make things more difficult,” Morgana grumbled. “We’ll have to be as careful as possible so Takeba won’t get hurt.”

“D-don’t worry Takeba-san!” Futaba puffed her chest out, trying her best to play the hero. “We’ll protect you!”

Akira nodded before he span around, his long coat twisting around him. He walked to the entrance of the alleyway to see what awaited them, what this Palace could possibly be.

For nearly a year when he was on probation, on some boring nights when he had nothing to do, Akira would play an old retro game console he had got from the second-hand store down the street from Leblanc, and had gotten overly familiar with it. Other times he had spent plenty of time at a Shibuya arcade with Ryuji, or at one here in Akihabara learning expert gun skills with an elementary school kid, Shinya Oda. So when he stepped out onto the street, he immediately realized what this Palace had made Akihabara into.

Towers of arcade cabinets burst from the roads like out of control weeds, the buildings had changed into large neon cubes, playing complex pixel animations all along them. Off in the distance, eclipsing everything else in height was a large flashing tower, and up in the black sky above that, pixel stars twinkled away with a square 8-bit moon. The whole of Akihabara had become some bizarre and twisted video game.

As he looked at this ridiculous display, this out of control Palace, _it_ started. That smirk of his started forming on his face. Now this...

This could be interesting.

 

* * *

_Error: Message unable to send._

Ken Amada looked at his phone with frustration as he tried to send another message off to Futaba, only for it to fail once again. He had of course sent her a message much earlier saying he wasn’t going to be able to attend Yukari’s signing with her. Except now he had come to Akihabara, trying to find her, because that hadn’t been the whole truth.

It hadn’t really set in last night until he was left alone with his thoughts - to really think about that Akira Kurusu. Not about how he was their leader, but about how Futaba reacted to him, how excited she was to see him, or how she just invited him along to this. As he thought about it, some kind of ugly emotion started rising up in him like bile, wanting to spew out - so he made up something to just not go - but of course now he found himself here anyway, hoping he could makes amends.

What was this emotion that was stirring around in him, this ugly terrible thing - was it jealousy? He shook his head - no, definitely not - why would he be jealous? That was stupid.

He was only snapped out of it as he heard the whimpering at his feet.

Ken looked down and saw Koromaru looking straight back up at him with concern. He smiled and knelt down, petting the dog. “I’m sorry boy, I’m just letting myself get caught up in stupid thoughts.

“We should probably stop standing around here and actually get going,” Ken sighed as he began to walk around once more. “Though I’m not sure where we’re going now. Yukari apparently left that signing event early so that store was a dead end.”

He rubbed his eyes, tired of searching as he looked down at his phone once more.

  _Error: Message unable to send._

This was stupid, Futaba was probably already back home. Ken resigned himself to this, speaking to Koromaru once more. “It’s probably time we just head home bo-”

It would have been a ridiculous chance to see someone he recognized in the crowds of Akihabara, but those two were unmistakable. He knew them right away - that silver-haired man in a dark suit, a red tie and dress shirt, with a bandage that just seemed to be permanently stuck above his left eye, and he was followed by a light brown-haired young woman in a dark green suit jacket with a grey skirt, a striped yellow blouse on underneath.

There were only two people they could possibly be and Ken and Koromaru soon caught up to them and caught their attention.

“Akihiko! Chie!” Ken shouted out as Koromaru barked alongside him.

That was enough to catch their attention, the pair both turning around in surprise.

“Hey Ken,” Akihiko greeted him as he ran up.

“Koromaru!” Chie exclaimed, immediately kneeling down and excitedly petting the dog. “Oh, who’s a good boy, who’s a good boy!”

“What are you guys doing in Akihabara?” Ken asked them, looking at the both of them quizzically. “I mean, it’s not really the kinda place I’d expect to see you two.”

Chie looked up at Akihiko with a sort of “should we tell him?” look as he rubbed the back of his neck and let out a sigh. “Mitsuru sent us. She got some kind of shadow distortion reading around here and asked us to check it out.”

“We haven’t seen anything yet though,” Chie said and shrugged as she stood back up. “I’m starting to wonder if it’s a false reading.”

“This isn’t the kinda thing you can get false readings for though,” Akihiko rebutted, as he looked back at her, “and we haven’t heard back from Yukari since Mitsuru called her, so I’m concerned.”

As the two discussed further, a small sense of worry creeped through Ken’s brain - what if Futaba had got caught up in whatever this reading was? Sure, she could probably handle herself, but what if-

_*Bzzzt*_

Ken felt a buzzing in his hand as his phone went off. He quickly looked at it, expecting to have finally received a message back from Futaba - only to be faced by a mysterious new icon on his home screen. It almost felt like it was staring at him, the icon being a strange red eye with a black star as its pupil. He had no memory of ever putting this on his phone, this app - this “Metaverse Navigator.”

He wasn’t sure why, but he felt compelled to press it. Logically, he knew he shouldn’t, some strange app showing up on his phone? Why would you ever press that? This sense of compulsion overpowered his reasoning though and he pressed down on the icon.

The crowds of Akihabara are so dense, it’d be rare for you to really focus on anyone’s face with the ton you’d see as you walked those streets, to even think about those you passed. So when three people and a dog just seemingly vanished into thin air, not a single soul noticed.

 

* * *

  _“Arsene!”_

_“Zorro!”_

 Joker ripped his mask off, blood spraying from his face for but a moment before it erupted into blue flame. Arsene bursted too life behind him with an explosion of feathers, his wings unfurled behind him, his eyes glowing as red as his crimson suit, along with his ever present grin.

 _“_ _It’s been quite some time, boy.”_

Arsene’s laugh echoed inside his head at their unexpected reunion, Akira only being able to smirk along with him as he sprinted ahead. Morgana kept pace with him, the hulking form of Zorro erupting behind him as he did. In front of them lay a group of shadows, square and blocky, moving as if they only had a few frames of animation. Red eyes glowered at the Phantom Thieves from behind their square masks.

“YOU INTRUDE UPON A RESTRICTED AREA” - A huge black dialogue box appeared above the shadows, text scrolling along it - “UNDER THE LAW OF LORD HAYATO ITO, YOU WILL BE DESTRO-”

The text box exploded in a shower of pixels along with a large number of the Shadows, Arsene’s wicked laughter filling Akira’s head as curse magic erupted from his clawed fingers. The rest were violently thrown around by powerful gusts of wind, bursting into pixels as they smashed into the large neon displays around them as Zorro conducted the wind with his rapier.

Joker leapt through the air and right onto the last remaining Shadow. Before it could even react, Joker grabbed ahold of its mask, viciously ripping it off and jumping back as a spray of vicious black ichor blasted from where its face used to be.

“Just like riding a bike, huh Joker?” Morgana grinned at him, Akira nodding back at him with a smirk as his mask rematerialized on his face with a burst of blue flame.

Futaba and Yukari came running up to them as they defeated the last of the Shadows, a smirk on Yukari’s face. “I’m impressed - you guys are pretty good.”

Futaba was about to pridefully reply before her goggles suddenly beeped and her face contorted into a frown as she stammered. “Um, guys.”

“What is it Oracle?” Joker asked, seeing her uneasiness.

“Those Shadows you destroyed,” She began, looking back and forth, trying to find something, “I’m still picking up their readings!”

Before they could even be properly shocked at this reveal, they were instead shocked as a river of black pixels coursed around them, converging on where their group had come from and reforming into something else. A terrible low screech erupted from it as a new giant Shadow came into existence, covered in masks.

Oracle looked at it in complete fear before shouting to the others. “I-It's too strong! Run!”

So run they did, in the only way they could now - forward. The Shadow was, terrifyingly, very fast for its speed, tearing apart its surroundings with its thundering steps as it sprinted after them. Futaba could only start crying and screaming as all of them desperately ran for their lives.

* * *

A swift kick connected with the blocky Shadow’s head, sending its mask flying into the pixelated night sky. Chie grinned as she kept her momentum going, spinning around to hit another - only for Akihiko to send its mask flying himself with a swift uppercut.

“Hey, that one was mine!” Chie huffed at him.

Akihiko smirked back at her as he chuckled. “Maybe you should be a bit quicker on the draw next time then.”

Their playful argument stopped though as they noticed another horde of those Shadows charging toward them - only to hear a sharp howl as a Persona erupted into life over the Shadows, the three-headed dog known as Cerberus. Flames erupted from its maws, burning the Shadows to cinders.

Ken and Koromaru came running up to them, the both of them out of breath. Ken panted, “Guys, you’re getting a little too into this aren’t you?”

“It’s the thrill of combat!” Chie exclaimed, her wide grin absolutely beaming. “Nothing gets my blood pumping like this does!”

Ken was about to let an exasperated sigh when something caught all of their attentions - the sound of screaming off in the distance. Ken recognized it immediately - it was Futaba.

Akihiko looked off in the direction with concern. “What the hel-”

“Akihiko, please tell me you’re carrying an extra Evoker!” Ken screamed, looking at him with desperation.

Akihiko reached into his suit’s jacket, pulling one out as he replied. “Yeah, I brought one just in- Hey!”

He could only reply in shock as Ken yanked it from his hand and took off running toward the screaming, his lungs feeling like they were burning up with how much running he had already done to keep up with Chie and Akihiko - but he had to get there. He had to help her.

* * *

“Please tell me we’re almost to an exit!” Morgana screamed as desperately looked to Futaba, barely audible over the huge Shadow’s screeching and its heavy thudding footsteps.

Futaba only kept screaming as all of them kept running. Joker turned his gaze ahead after the exchange, only to notice there was now a figure in front of them. They all noticed it, confusion and shock coursing through Morgana, Akira, and Futaba, while relief seemed to fill Yukari’s face.

“Ken?!” Futaba heaved as she saw who was in front of them.

“Ken!” Yukari exclaimed with relief at the sight of finally seeing a familiar face.

This summer vacation, already filled with twists and turns only two days in, had another one compound atop it as they noticed Ken Amada straight in front of them, a look of steely determination on his face. He brought up an ornate-looking pistol and held it to his temple, staring straight at the huge Shadow that pursued the, and his voice bellowed out as he pressed down on the trigger.

_“Kala-Nemi!”_

Ken Amada’s eyes went blank, the very life drained away from them, the world moving in slow motion as the crack of a gunshot thundered against his eardrums, a spattering of blue energy exploding out of the other side of his head. The life returned to his eyes as the energy coursed around him, forming into his Persona - a huge orange and black robotic-looking being, his machinery rapidly spinning around, the glowing symbols of the zodiac on his bulbous shoulder and the lights over his body growing with intensity.

Kala-Nemi glowered at the huge Shadow stomping toward - or it felt like that, even despite his lack of a face. The robotic Persona raised his arms, his light growing with even more intensity and released a gigantic death ray of holy energy, blazing over all their heads and colliding into the center mass of the huge Shadow chasing after them, burning a hole right through it and causing it to explode violently into pixels.

The thunderous stomping didn’t stop though, as they realized another was coming up toward them from the direction they were running in, hot in pursuit of Chie, Akihiko, and Koromaru. Joker skidded to a stop next to Ken, and ripped his mask off once more as the three ran past them. Arsene bursted into existence once more and thrust his claws forward, tearing into the gigantic abomination and tearing it open, it violently exploding as well.

Everyone finally skidded to a stop, looking at one another with a variety of emotions.

“Akihiko! Chie!” Yukari sighed with relief at seeing more people she recognized.

“Yuka-” Chie exclaimed before she looked at Futaba, Morgana, and Akira with varying sounds of confusion. “Man those are some crazy outfits you guys-”

“They’re reforming!” Futaba interrupted as she shouted out loud.

The group was forced to get closer to one another, back to back as the pixels stormed around them and reformed as another huge group of smaller Shadows once more.

Chie smirked, a tarot card appearing out of thin air between her fingers. “Don’t worry guys, I got this.”

She tossed the into the air, and swung a kick, impacting it, causing a shower of blue energy to rain over her.

_“Haraedo-no-Okami!”_

Her Persona burst to life, an extremely impressive looking samurai, a plume of glorious white hair and a magnificent dark green cape flowing around her. She lifted her impressive double-bladed red sword and thrust it into the ground, a wave of cold blasting out around the group and into the Shadows, all of them freezing over as the Persona disappeared.

“Akihiko!” Chie shouted as she leaped back.

A smirk formed on Akihiko’s face as he pulled his Evoker up to his forehead and responded. “I’ve been waiting for this!”

_“Caesar!”_

With the crack of a gunshot, a shining roman centurion appeared above them, holding a silver blade aloft with its billowing cape, gleaming in the neon light. A strange little man sat inside his chest, but it was nary a concern as Caesar held aloft the globe in his other hand, sparking with electricity. A storm of lightning bolts came crashing down around them, shattering the frozen Shadows to a million pieces.

Still even more Shadows approached, but Koromaru howled, his collar sparking around his neck with blue energy and Cerberus shot to life, another huge gout of flame shooting from its three maws and lighting the horde of Shadows aflame. Morgana naturally followed through, Zorro coming forth with a massive gust of wind that caught the flames and formed a twister of flames, absolutely tearing the Shadows apart.

Chie and Akihiko immediately high fived with proud smirks on their face because of how cool that was - only for it to immediately be ruined as Futaba shouted out once more. “Th-They’re reforming again!”

The pixels violently stormed around them and collided into one creature again, twice the size of the other one. The gargantuan Shadow let out a massive screeching roar, an explosion of darkness erupting forth and colliding against the group of Persona users, wracking their bodies with pain.

It looked down at them with hungry eyes, all of them tired from fighting. It was then Joker finally decided he had enough, gritting his teeth as he reached up to his mask, painfully ripping it from his face once more.

“Horus!” He shouted, the magnificent golden bird forming into existence, shining with the might of the sun. It screeched at the Shadow, glowing with even more intensity, enough so that the Shadow recoiled back, shielding itself from the holy light.

“Thor!”

The Son of Odin charged forth from Akira, tackling the massive Shadow and pushing it against one of the huge neon buildings, causing it to crack and spark from the sheer force.  It pushed back though; Thor exploded into a shower of blue energy from the beast’s mighty strike. It began to push itself out, only for it to be shoved back in as Cerberus and Zorro tackled into it. They were soon followed up by Caesar and Haraedo-no-Okami, their blades piercing through the Shadow’s shoulders, pinning it against the wall. It let out a massive roar, struggling against the four Personas holding it back.

Ken stepped forward, triggering his Evoker once more, Kala-Nemi springing to life. The glowing zodiac symbols rapidly span around, a pool of light forming underneath the Shadow. A tornado of glowing paper seals erupted forth, surrounding it, before all of them collapsed inward and against the Shadow, the glowing intensity growing even stronger before the Shadow exploded in a glorious flash of light.

“It’s…” Futaba panted heavily as she collapsed to her hands and knees, the adrenaline finally wearing off. “It’s finally dead.”

All eight of them let out a collective sigh of relief, the danger finally over. Akihiko smirked, looking over at Akira as he fixed his tie. “Don’t know who you are kid, but that was some impressive stuff.”

“I didn’t think we’d run into another Wild Card while we were out here,” Chie pondered, before smiling. “Guess it’s just another one of life’s nice surprises!”’

Ken and Yukari just stared at him with eyes wide and mouth agape, Akira only able to do the same to all of them.

“You know more people with my power?” Akira was surprised, the only other he had seen had been Akechi, but he shook his head. “Nevermind, we can talk about that later - Oracle, have you figured us a way out of here yet?”

“Oh!” Futaba exclaimed, springing to her feet. “Just a bit more down the way we were heading and we should be able to use the Meta-Nav app to get out of here! We better hurry too, I’m getting more readings coming toward us!”

“Oh great,” Morgana wheezed. “Even more running!”

They took off running, Shadows starting to emerge from any nook, cranny, and crack they could, crawling toward the group. Joker pulled his phone out, getting the app at the ready as he waited for Futaba’s signal.

“Okay Joker, do it now!”

He pressed down, triggering it, the world collapsing around them - and finally they were back in the real world, the sun setting over Akihabara.

“That was” - Yukari almost heaved over, trying to desperately trying to catch her breath - “way too much excitement in one day for me.”

“You got that right,” Morgana sighed, back in his regular cat-shaped form.

“Oh my gosh, the kitty talks!” Chie squealed, leaning down to look at Morgana.

Morgana suddenly pulled back, his fur standing on end as Chie invaded his personal space. “Uh yeah, I can talk. I mean, the dog there can too.”

Koromaru barked, Morgana looking back at him with a frown. “What, they just hear you barking? That sucks.”

Akira could only start laughing at this, a cat and a dog talking to one another, being what followed after their death-defying escape. His laughter was contagious, soon catching the others within it, all of them just glad to be alive. When they started getting attention from the surrounding crowd from how ridiculous they were being, they finally calmed down.

“The name’s Akihiko Sanada,” He finally greeted himself, looking at them with a smile.

“And I’m Chie Satonaka!” She exclaimed, gesturing a thumb at herself. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintances!”

“Futaba Sakura,” Futaba grinned, crossing her arms.

“You can call me Morgana,” Morgana grinned up at them, before briefly looking over at Koromaru as he barked, “and that’s Koromaru.”

“Amada-senpai!” Futaba turned around with surprise, grabbing ahold of his shoulders and shaking him. “I didn’t know you had a Persona!”

Amada looked away nervously, before Akira spoke once more. “I figured it out actually.”

Amada wheezed in surprised as he said so. “Wait, how did you-”

“We figured it out when you reacted to me asking if you were Futaba’s boyfriend,” Morgana looked up at him, snickering. “Really gave yourself away with that.”

Ken’s face turned red, being found out by such a dumb mistake. “Wait, is that what you were gonna ask me last night, Kurusu?”

Akira smirked as he pushed his glasses up and replied. “Yeah actually, I didn’t wanna worry Futaba and the others though - but I think my worries are unfounded now.”

Ken let out a sigh of relief and smiled. “Thanks.”

“So just who are you guys really?” Yukari finally asked. “I mean, how did you get your Personas? What’s with the mask-ripping thing? And those crazy outfits!?”

“What!? I wanna know why you guys _don’t_ get outfits myself!” Futaba retorted back, as confused as Yukari. “What’s the deal with those gun things - are those Evokers? Why didn’t Satonaka-san have to use one? How does a DOG have a Persona?!”

“Geez, calm down everyone,” Akihiko motioned at them, getting them to stop as he continued speaking. “I think we all have a lot of questions and explanations to give to one another. This isn’t the place for them though. C’mon, I’ll lead the way to somewhere better.”

* * *

“So… Back in high school, you guys stopped this mysterious 25th hour called the Dark Hour, climbed this huge tower called Tartarus, and fought the literal personification of death itself, while the moon fell down from outer space during this thing called the Fall,” Futaba looked at Yukari with disbelief. “Am I hearing this right?”

“Yeah, that’s the very basic gist of it,” Yukari sighed, sitting down on the comfy couch next to Futaba. “It’s a very long story so I can’t go over all of it, but that should give you an idea I hope.”

“Woah, that’s pretty sick,” Futaba remarked, nodding her head before looking to the other side of the room. “So wait, Amada-senpai, if you were there back then-”

“I’ve had my Persona since I was a kid, yes,” Ken answered, figuring out what Futaba was about to ask.

“That’s crazy,” Futaba sighed, rubbing her temples as she tried to process the whole thing.

Akihiko had lead them to a fancy penthouse apartment in a nice part of Tokyo, where they currently awaited in a little lounge outside two heavy oaken doors, Akihiko and Chie having gone ahead to talk to whoever was inside. Akira was having a hard time processing all this himself, but him and Futaba had already contacted the rest of their group at Ken’s suggestion. They were extremely curious to know what was happening, but it was far too much to explain without being in person. So they had given them directions and they were heading their way now.

Akira was pulled from his thoughts as Futaba spoke up again. “But Chie wasn’t part of the original group, this SEES - or I guess the Shadow Operatives now?”

“No, we met her like two years later,” Yukari responded. “She and her friends had dealt with a weird series of homicides in their hometown, involving this whole thing where they would go into TVs and go to another world… I’m not even really sure about all the details.

“She was really taken with Akihiko when she met him though,” Yukari laughed. “She used to constantly call him Master, and then when she graduated school, she became a police officer, as well as joined up with the Shadow Operatives. Her and Akihiko have been partners ever since.

“But you guys… You guys are THE Phantom Thieves?” Yukari exclaimed, looking at the group. “I should really thank you again, I mean you did save the world from that thing - Yaldabaoth.”

“Oh, so you remember it?” Futaba asked. “It seemed a lot of people forgot about it once we saved the day - I guess you could say it disappeared from their cognition.”

“Well, it’s because we have Personas,” Yukari replied, looking down at the her own palm as she flexed her hand. “I’ve always thought us gaining them was us trading away our innocence - that for gaining this power, we could no longer look away from the things we didn’t want to see. It became our responsibility to do something about those things because we have this power.”

Futaba looked up to her, both metaphorically and literally, her eyes sparkling at how her hero was also literally a hero. Akira couldn’t help but smile at how happy she was, though he also noticed Ken looked oddly distracted, but that was probably understandable.

“That’s a really sad story,” Morgana bemoaned as Koromaru whimpered something to him. “I’m so sorry.”

“What’s up Morgana?” Akira knelt down to the pair of house pets as they conversed.

“Oh, Koromaru was telling me about his old master,” Morgana explained. “He was an old monk that watched over a shrine in Iwatadoi, before he passed away because of an accident. Koromaru watched over that shrine, protecting it as best as he could.

“That’s what lead to his determination though, his spirit becoming strong enough to summon a Persona!” Morgana proclaimed, Koromaru barking enthusiastically to him. “Yeah that too.”

Akira cocked his head as Morgana translated once more. “Oh he was just saying, it was thanks to him getting a Persona he was able to meet all these nice people, including us now!”

Koromaru licked him across the cheek, Morgana visibly recoiling from it. He gave the dog a flat look, as he spoke unenthusiastically. “Gross.”

“So, I was actually wondering about that too,” Yukari spoke up, looking at the display. “Was Morgana just a normal cat before all this?”

“That is…” Morgana trailed off, trying to think of the best way to explain it before just giving up. “It’s a looong story too. I’ll have to explain it to you in full later, but I was born to help out this guy here. You could say we’re partners!”

He looked up at Akira, the two of them giving one another nods. Akira then got back up, addressing Ken and Yukari. “So I was wondering, could you guys tell me about that other Wild Ca-”

“Pardon the intrusion,” The purple-haired maid they had met earlier - Kikuno Saikawa - spoke up as she returned to the room, “but the rest of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts have arrived.”

As she said, the rest of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts entered into the room after her, desperate for answers. Ryuji was the first to speak up, “Dude, the hell’s going on? Why do they know we’re the Phantom Thieves?”

“Maybe it’s because you kept shouting it all the time,” Morgana quipped, sticking his tongue out at him.

“Shut it-” Ryuji retorted back, only to be cut off by Saikawa as she spoke up once more.

“Ah, Kitagawa-sama,” She spoke to Yusuke. “Would you care for another biscuit?”

“Very much so,” Yusuke answered without giving it a second thought.

“Here you go,” Saikawa immediately produced it, already having it at the ready. “I’ll go fetch another, hmm?”

“That would be quite appreciated,” Yusuke murmured as he took the biscuit while Saikawa walked off. “Thank you very much.”

“Man, why are you just taking food from strangers?” Ryuji glared at him as he sighed. “Didn’t you learn anything in elementary school?”

“I learned I’m hungry and these biscuits are delectable so,” Yusuke began before he stuffed the biscuit into his mouth and simply stopped speaking.

“Oh hey guys,” Ken greeted them, finally realizing they were there.

“Oh hey Amad- wait, why is he here?” Ann asked.

“You said this was very important Akira,” Makato began, “and from what we’ve seen so far, it seems very much so. Could you kindly explain what’s going on?”

“All of you might want to sit down for this,” Akira said. “It’s going to be a lot.”

* * *

“To think this is how things would turn out,” Mitsuru said, as she leaned back into her chair, deep in thought.

“It’s pretty crazy right?” Chie mulled over what had happened the past couple hours. “I didn’t think we were gonna run into the infamous Phantom Thieves themselves, but look at where we are now.”

“They seem like good kids though,” Akihiko admitted, a smirk on his face. “You’ve been curious about what kinda people they really were for a while haven’t you Mitsuru?

“That Akira Kurusu actually sorta reminds me of _him_ ,” He continued, Mitsuru knowing just who he was talking about.

Mitsuru couldn’t help but have a smile form on her face at that, and she replied to him. “You’re right Akihiko. Honestly, this twist of events was probably the best possibly way for us to find that out.”

“Well that’s all fine and dandy,” Chie interjected, “but we still have the problem of whatever that thing in Akihabara is.”

“The Palace, yeah that is an issue,” Akihiko sighed. “We’re stretched thin as it is, what with Labyrs overseas right now.”

“Yu just went back to Inaba for summer vacation,” Chie added. “I really don’t wanna have to call him up and ruin his time with Nanako and Dojima.”

“I’d also rather not pull any of our friends who’ve gone on to live normal lives into this business either,” Mitsuru replied. “In addition, I’d also like to have you two work with Naoto, Fuuka, and Aigis on a much more drastic case that I’ve had them on.”

“Then who’s gonna take care of-” Chie began before looking back at the door. “Wait, you aren’t thinking about them are you?”

“Only one way to find out,” Akihiko said with a smirk.

* * *

Ken Amada leaned with an elbow against the table, losing himself in his thoughts as Akira and Futaba explained the events of today to the rest of the Phantom Thieves. It had certainly been an eventful day - he hadn’t expected Koromaru to get along so well with the cat, but he guessed opposites attract.

“All right, let me get all this straight,” Ryuji grumbled as he scratched the back of his head. “So, there’s other Persona users besides us?”

“I figured that’d be the easiest idea out of all this to grasp,” Morgana teased.

“Yeah yeah, shut up,” Ryuji growled back at him, “and Amada and Takeba are some of these other Persona users.”

Ken picked up his head and looked over to him with a reply. “Yeah, that’s right.”

“They’re different Persona users from us though,” Makoto added on, “Unlike us, they don’t get outfits or summon their Personas by ripping off a mask; instead they have the assistance of a tool called an Evoker - with the exception of this Satonaka-san who has a completely different method.”

“The Evoker looks like a gun though!” Futaba shouted out, the rest of the group giving her a look. “Well, I mean I thought it was pretty cool.”

“How interesting though,” Yusuke pondered as he rubbed his chin. “I wonder if the means of Persona summoning is something that reflects on its user and the circumstances of how they came to finding their Personas - their true selves… It seems like it’d be an interesting subject for a painting.”

“So you know this group is called the Shadow Operatives,” Haru began, giving Akira a quizzical look, “but you still don’t know what they’re really about or who’s in charge of them?”

Before Akira could answer, the heavy oaken doors finally opened, Chie and Akihiko stepping out, followed by a woman with fiery red hair and an air of absolute dignity and beauty.

“I am the leader of the Shadow Operatives,” She stated, a smile on her face. “It’s a pleasure to properly meet all of you, I am-”

“Mitsuru Kirijo!” Haru exclaimed, her mouth agape as she seemed to be in amazement upon seeing her.

“Uhhhh,” Ryuji mumbled as he elbowed Yusuke. “Who’s Mitsuru Kirijo?”

“Ann,” Yusuke immediately turned to the girl next to him. “Who is Mitsuru Kirijo?”

“Well, uh,” Ann coughed, desperately wracking her brain for an answer. “Uhh, she’s-”

“God, are all of you really this helpless?” Makoto sighed and rolled her eyes. “She’s THE Mitsuru Kirijo! One of the richest and most successful women in all of Japan, if not the world! The head of the Kirijo Group!”

“I’m so sorry Kirijo-sama!” Haru suddenly squealed and bowed deeply. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you!”

“It’s quite all right,” Mitsuru replied, smiling at her. “In fact, I know quite a lot about you, Haru Okumura.”

“R-really?!” Haru stammered, shocked at the revelation. “It’s such an honor!”

Akira had rarely seen Haru show such deep respect for someone before - he guessed because of how successful Kirijo was in business, Okumura as a fellow woman in that field as well was completely taken by her and her position. He turned back to Mitsuru as she spoke up once more.

“Now then, I believe you’re all owed an explanation,” Mitsuru began, turning her focus back to the original discussion. “The Shadow Operatives is a covert government group, backed by me and the Kirijo Group. We are an unofficial security department under the JSDF officially known as the Shadow Response Unit, our jobs being to deal with any Persona or Shadow related activity.”

“The government has a covert group specifically meant to deal with Shadows and Personas?” Makoto reacted with as much surprise as the rest of the group, which was a lot.

“Wait, then is that how the government found out about this stuff?” Ryuji growled, a scowl forming on his face. “How Shido and his goons found out about this stuff?! Because of you?!”

“That is what I consider one of our greatest failures,” Mitsuru sighed sorrowfully, a deep frown forming on her face. “I turned to the power of the government as to better deal with threats of Shadows or of Persona users misusing their abilities - but I should have known there would be those within it who would use it to their own gain.

“I tried for ages to deal with Shido officially, my every method getting countered. It wasn’t until I saw your broadcast when you hacked Japan’s airwaves did I realize I lost my way and should have been more like you - like the Phantom Thieves. You did what I couldn’t and finally brought him down before it was too late. If only I had been as direct as you, we could have avoided so much of what we lost.”

She let out another sigh, wiping away the tears that had welled up in her eyes. “You have my most sincerest apologies for what you went through, and my deepest thanks for stopping him.”

The group stood in a stunned silence at that, before Haru spoke up, tears in her eyes. “Kirijo-sama, it’s all right. You tried to do the right thing unlike so many of those adults we went up against.”

“Man, now I feel like a huge jerk,” Ryuji groaned, hiding his face in shame. “I’m sorry I got so fired up.”

“Just like you to make a bunch of girls cry Ryuji,” Morgana snickered at him. “You’re so insensitive.”

“I’m gonna kick you out the closest window of this penthouse if you don’t shut up Morgana!” Ryuji huffed at him and stomped his feet.

Morgana simply snickered at him again in response, the oppressive atmosphere being lifted thanks to it. Yukari and Ken were actually quite surprised themselves at this.

“You were dealing with all that Mitsuru?” Yukari sympathized. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“I never knew all of this had been going on,” Ken sighed. “I feel completely oblivious.”

“It was my cross to bear,” Mitsuru said, looking at her two former teammates. “Both of you had gone onto normal lives, separate from SEES and the Shadow Operatives and I didn’t want to pull you back into it.”

“Boy, it was hard going though!” Chie exclaimed. “Me and Akihiko were doing so much work from within the police force to try and help you guys out!”

“For real?” Ryuji was taken aback by that. “I didn’t think any cops were on our side.”

“I mean it’s not like we really did much,” Akihiko sighed. “Shido had his grimy little fingers all over everything. The best we tried to do was get close to helping your leader out when he got imprisoned that one time - but you guys beat us to the punch with that.”

“Oh yeah!” Chie exclaimed again, looking at them with excitement. “You guys gotta tell us how you pulled that off sometime! That was like some murder mystery switcheroo shenanigans and I haven’t been able to figure it out!”

“Later, but enough fun and games for now,” Morgana leaped onto a nearby table, to bring himself somewhat level to the rest of the group. “We’ve got something far more important to discuss.”

“The Palace I assume?” Mitsuru replied, giving the cat her full attention. “I was about to bring it up myself.”

“Finally, another goal-focused person like myself!” Morgana purred.

“Oh yeah, you guys said you ended up in one right?” Ann probed them, concern lining her face. “That shouldn’t be possible though right? You told us when we destroyed Mementos, it would destroy the Metaverse along with it.”

“Exactly,” Morgana grumbled, flicking his tail back and forth with agitation. “That’s why this is so concerning.”

“So…” Chie mumbled, as she looked up to the ceiling. “What exactly is a Palace?”

Morgana got ready to explain, only to be cut off by Mitsuru doing so before him. “A Palace is a manifestation of someone’s distorted desires, strong enough to warp the very Metaverse, to have it become affected by that person’s cognition of the world.”

“Huh…” Chie pondered. “That sorta sounds like the TV world, except it wasn’t just our desires that made the places in it, but also how others saw us. I mean, Teddie did say it was a world shaped by human thoughts so...”

“They’re very similar concepts, but Palaces are on a much greater scale than what you encountered,” Mitsuru continued. “Instead of being suppressed desires and emotions, the creator of a Palace is awash with strong negative and corrupt thoughts, which creates something of this kind of power.”

“Yeah, the one we saw in Akihabara was way bigger than anything in the TV world,” Chie acknowledge with a nod.

“Now I’m confused and I’m supposed to be the expert on all this!” Morgana blurted. “Besides all that TV world stuff though, there’s still the present problem that this shouldn’t be possible!”

“I mean, there’s no way Yaldabaoth could still be alive right?” Ryuji asked.

“Of course not!” Morgana asserted, his eyes filled with fire. “Yaldabaoth was completely done for!”

“It’s quite the problem,” Mitsuru pondered, before addressing the Phantom Thieves as a whole. “Which is why I was hoping to enlist your help.

“You’re the experts on these Palaces and have plenty of experience bringing them down,” Mitsuru continued. “I want to take care of this before it somehow poses a threat to Akihabara and the city as a whole.”

“Wait, are you asking us…” Akira finally spoke up. “To pull off a heist?”

Mitsuru chuckled, smirking at the leader of the Phantom Thieves. “I suppose I am. So, what do you say?”

Morgana looked up at Akira, saying one last thing. “I mean we did say the Phantom Thieves were retired, but what do you think Joker?”

Akira took a deep long look inside himself, and at his friends around the room, wondering just how to answer. Moments later, that all too familiar smirk of his they all recognized showed up on his face.

“Well, the big heist groups in the movies are always saying ‘it’s just gonna be this last job’, but they always get pulled back in again anyway don’t they?” Akira joked. “So I think I’d definitely say yes - as long as everyone else in unanimous in this.”

He looked back at his group, gauging their reaction see how they’d answer.

Ryuji was the first, a huge grin on his face. “Oh hell yeah man! I mean you’re back in town so we gotta get the band back together!”

“What a waste of a summer vacation,” Yusuke, somehow finding a chance to speak between all the biscuits Saikawa was delivering to him, sighed, playing up his overdramatic self, “but I suppose I have nothing better to do.”

“Of course!” Haru enthusiastically agreed. “We can’t just stand by can we?”

“You’d guys be lost without me if I didn’t come along!” Futaba exclaimed, pushing her glasses back up like she was in an anime. “Besides, what Takeba-san said earlier about how we got these powers for a reason is right! If the Palaces are back, it’s probably nothing good and we got a responsibility to deal with it!”

“I’m inclined to agree with Futaba’s reasoning,” Makoto agreed, a soft smile on her face. “Besides, my own natural curiosity wants to know why this is happening as well.”

“Maaaaan, you all just had to make all these great sentiments of agreement didn’t you,” Ann cried, pulling at her pigtails. “I was hoping to work on my tan this summer but fiiine! I’m back in too!”

Morgana leapt back onto Akira’s shoulder, giving him a toothy smirk. “Guess we’re back in business, partner!”

Akira nodded back, glad he could count on his friends like he always had. He faced Mitsuru once more. “Besides that, I think I owe you one.”

Mitsuru smiled, letting out a little giggle. “I didn’t want you to feel indebted to me, but you’re far more clever than I gave you credit for.”

Akira looked back at his friends, to address their building confusion, answering it pretty clearly. “She helped clear my record.”

“Well, your friends did most of the heavy lifting,” Mitsuru interjected, giving them a nod. “I just helped push things in the right direction as best I could from the shadows. It was the least I could do for the group that finally took down Shido, not to mention saved the world.”

A wave of appreciation swept Mitsuru from them, but things calmed down agaom as they got back to discussion.

“So for you to infiltrate a Palace you need a name, a place, and what the distortion is?” Mitsuru asked, looking to Morgana.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it,” Morgana nodded, before a wide smirk formed on his face. “Fortunately those stupid Shadows in the Palace told us his name - Hayato Ito!”

Mitsuru thought to herself for a moment before looking to Chie and Akihiko. “See what you can find out about this Hayato Ito. Anything might be helpful to the Phantom Thieves for this job.”

Akihiko nodded. “Yeah, we’ll get started on it first thing tomorrow.”

Mitsuru looked back to Akira. “I presume you and your group will go back into the Palace tomorrow and try to secure an infiltration route?”

“That’s generally how we do things,” Akira responded. “As long as nothing gets in our way at least.”

Ken suddenly interjected, stepping up to them after having stood to the sidelines for most of the conversation. “If it’s alright, can I come along with you guys?”

“Amada-senpai…” Futaba looked over to him. “You really wanna help us?”

“Of course I do, you’re my friend Futaba,” Ken scoffed, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. “I mean, I sorta consider all of you my friends, if that’s okay.”

“Of course Amada-kun!” Haru nodded. “I’m sure we could use all the help we can get, right Akira?”

Akira looked at him with a smile and nodded, extending his hand to shake his. “It’s good to have you aboard Amada.”

Koromaru barked, Morgana taking a brief opportunity to tease Ken. “I woulda just taken Koromaru myself, but he says you guys are a package deal, so welcome aboard!”

Ken chuckled to Morgana before looking back at Akira and grasping his hand back, the two of them shaking on it.

“Well if Ken and Koromaru are coming along, then I insist on coming too!” Yukari spoke up, before she glanced at Futaba. “You really helped remind me of something I forgot. Thank you Futaba-chan.”

Futaba looked at, her body aquiver with excitement. She almost looked like she would shake to another dimension. “Yo-you’re amazing Takeba-san!”

“Thanks, I know, I’m pretty great,” Yukari replied smugly, a large smirk on her face.

As Akira saw this display, Yukari's smug pride immediately reminded him of someone else he knew, looking at the cat on his shoulder with a look. Morgana just looked back at him with a raised brow wondering what that look was for.

“Well I think we accomplished quite a lot tonight,” Mitsuru said, looking the group over one last time. “It’s getting quite late though, all of you should be heading home. I’m sure you have guardians who are worried about you.”

“Oh but first!” Yukari spoke up and pulled her phone out. “We really need to exchange all of our contact info with one another.”

After that lengthy process, everyone finally started filing out, but Yusuke was briefly stopped by Kikuno Saikawa once again, her calming smile ever present. “Kitagawa-sama, one more biscuit for the road?”

“Of course!” Yusuke exclaimed, gladly taking it. “You are truly a saint Saikawa-san.”

She nodded at him and walked off, a pleasant look overcoming Yusuke’s face as he spoke to himself. “To think I would be gifted with the visage of such an angel this evening. An angel of such delicious biscuits.”

* * *

Goodbyes and good nights had been said, and Futaba, Akira, and Morgana rode the train back to Yongen-Jaya. Their return was marked as the bell of Leblanc rang with their entrance, Sojiro looking over to them.

“Oh hey, you’re finally back,” Sojiro said, leaning over the counter to look at them. “What have you guys been up to all day? Not getting into any trouble I hope.”

“Of course not Sojiro!” Futaba exclaimed. “It was actually a really good day!”

“Managed to go see that actress you wanted to really see then?” Sojiro grinned at her. “She autograph your boxset of - what - Featherman V?”

Futaba’s face froze in place as Sojiro asked that, and a thud soon followed as she planted her face directly into the counter. She then cried out, her voice muffled by the long orange hair covering her face. “I-I completely forgot about it! My chance at such a collector’s item!”

Akira gave her a sympathetic pat on the back for her forgetful nature. Morgana poked his head out of Akira’s bag and sighed. “Well just get it sighed when we see her tomorrow, duh!”

“Oh!” Futaba shot back up, realizing how dumb that had been. “Of course! You’re right, Morgana! I’m so dumb!”

After a brief exchange, Sojiro closed up shop for the night and him and Futaba headed home. Akira walked up to the attic and let himself collapse into bed.

* * *

_“How splendid.”_

Igor’s familiar voice came to Akira once more, as he found himself in the Velvet Room once again. He stood at Igor’s desk, him and Lavanza in front of him as always. A great number of tarot cards orbited around all three of them, Igor seeming to take great pleasure in this.

“You have found yourself a number of remarkable new allies,” Igor chuckled. “To form so many new bonds in the course of a day - truly you are an extraordinary guest.”

“You’ve done so well trickster,” Lavenza commented, beaming up at him with her bright yellow eyes. “I knew we could have faith in you.”

“These new bonds will surely help you in the trials that await ahead,” Igor continued, looking to Akira with his wide grin. “They are just beginning though, and a perilous road awaits you.”

“...Igor,” Akira spoke up, for the first time in the Velvet Room in a while. “Can you tell me about your previous guests?”

“Ho ho,” Igor laughed, looking at him. “A curious one aren’t we?

“They were Wild Cards like yourselves, ones all of impressive ability,” Igor began, his smile ever growing wider. “They have come and gone as time marches ever forward, but with the new bonds you have formed… You may meet one of our formers guest sooner than you think. She was quite the odd one after all.

“But that is a story for another time,” Igor chuckled at him, pulling the card of the Fool arcana out. “Even our own bond goes stronger, trickster, as you walk ever forward.”

Lavenza grabbed a hold of Akira’s hand and lead him along, his eyes growing heavier and heavier. She looked up to him with a smile and said one final thing to him as he drifted off.

_“Now go trickster, and return once again to the waking world.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, what a chapter that was. I always end up going out of control with this stuff. Anyway, our casts expands as the Phantom Thieves meet even more of the Shadow Operatives! So I wanted to go over some author notes:
> 
> \- I actually based Akihiko's outfit off of what he wears in Persona -trinity soul-, despite it being a parallel universe spin off, since I feel like yeah, that's probably what an older Akihiko would wear, since he probably can't go around the city completely shirtless all the time, especially if he's a cop - he's gotta have a degree of professionalism about him! Of course I figured he'd still have that bandage on him, since he still did almost 2 years later in P4A after Persona 3. I have no idea what he's hiding under there.
> 
> \- Chie is briefly mentioned in one of the P5's news reports you can hear on Akira's TV, it reporting on a police officer that fights criminals with kung fu. I also figured Chie would be the sort to not want her power of a Persona to go to waste, wanting to use it for good, so I figured she'd probably join up with the Shadow Operatives. Appearance wise, I wanted her to have a degree of professionalism that'd be expected of her while keeping her color schemes present. I also think she's probably kept her hair around the same length it was in the epilogue of P4G.
> 
> \- Had to fit in Kikuno Saikawa and her dedication to being the best maid ever, and I figured doing a bit with Yusuke would be some good fun.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you got any questions that the answer for wouldn't be a spoiler for my ~future plans~, feel free to ask! As always, I hope you leave a comment because I love seeing them and that you'll come back for the next chapter! Until next time!
> 
> ps. also tell me if you notice any horrible grammar mistakes, i have a heck of a time going over all 10000+ of these words ahaha.


	3. GAME START

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Phantom Thieves, joined by Yukari Takeba, Ken Amada, and Koromaru, head into the impossible Palace of Hayato Ito, an entity that shouldn't exist. Within they are faced with overcoming a bizarre series of challenges...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOO BOY, it's been a while and this is a LONG CHAPTER; over 23,000+ words! This will probably be the first of many long chapters since while I could probably split it up, I very much like telling the whole story of what's going on in a segment before moving onto another. I'm weird like that.
> 
> Anyway first things first, I wanted to address something for any new readers who are confused when they get here, or for any others who were as well; Why did Morgana have Zorro, his social link is automatic, so why not Mercurius?
> 
> The answer is simple; I'm attempting to write this in the sense of it being an actual sequel spin-off like the P4A or Dancing games, where the P4 party all had their regular Personas, even Teddie who was also an automatic social link. I headcanon that the Ultimate Personas are initially an eleventh-hour super power that they pull out when shit gets real and their resolve is at its strongest, like the moment in the P4 anime when they were fighting Ameno-sagiri. I imagine that once the characters get older and stronger, more accepting of who they are and the longer they're Persona users for, the Ultimate Personas are more natural to call out and become their true selves - which is why Chie, Akihiko, Yukari, and Ken were all calling out their Ultimate Personas.
> 
> There's also the other answer, the reason why the devs made the P4 party have their regular Personas; because they're cooler, and I consider the same for the Phantom Thieves; I really like their theme of their Personas being famous - historic or fictional - rebels! It's a super cool theme and way more fitting of the Phantom Thieves then the more mythological figures there Ultimate Personas are; though Futaba is a bit of a weird reversal to that, since the Necronomicon is a weird alien hell book while Prometheus is this huge ass baller rebel who stole flame from the gods and gifted it to humanity, but I'm consistent and Futaba will still be using Necronomicon.
> 
> Though that's not to say their Ultimate Personas won't show up - wink wink nudge nudge.
> 
> Anyway, in regards to this chapter; I sorta felt I wasn't doing super good at the start of it, but really found my writing groove again while writing the ending. I might be being a bit too harsh on myself, but regardless, I hope you enjoy it and that I'll see you again at the bottom!

A gentle breeze blew threw the morning mist, marking the beginning of a beautiful summer’s day. It was this particular morning that the Phantom Thieves of Hearts found themselves in Kitanomaru Park, one of Tokyo’s public parks near Akihabara. After the events of yesterday, finding out the Metaverse had returned and meeting the Shadow Operatives, they had decided to meet up here to discuss plans before they infiltrated the Palace of this mysterious Hayato Ito. Right now though, Akira Kurusu and Ryuji Sakamoto had gone off to a vending machine to retrieve drinks at the behest of the others.

“Man, I’m exhausted,” Ryuji yawned, reaching down to retrieve their drinks from the vending machine. “Why are we meeting up so early?”

“In the words of Morgana, ‘we can’t afford to waste any time’,” Akira chuckled, grinning as Ryuji passed some of the beverages to him. “Besides the faster we deal with this, the less time we have to spend worrying about it.”

Ryuji sighed and shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. I just woulda appreciated sleeping in some.”

The two headed back to the picnic table they had taken up as theirs, the rest of the group sat around it, though Yusuke leaned against the edge because of the limited seating. In addition, Ken and Koromaru had arrived alongside them, and Koromaru was currently cuddled between Haru and Ann on one side of the table, the dog wagging his tail, happy as could be.

“He’s such a good doggie!” Ann hummed, rubbing her fingers against the dog’s soft fur.

“He is quite soft, isn’t he?” Haru smiled, gently patting him.

Morgana in the meanwhile stood on top of the table, giving the whole scene a side-eyed glance, an air of envy rising around him. He was only snapped out of it as Akira and Ryuji returned, and the blonde young man badgered him. “Lookin’ pretty jealous there Mona. Not a good look.”

“Wh-what?!” Morgana stammered out in a panic, fur standing on end as he quickly turned to face him. “I’m not jealous! Don’t be ridiculous!”

While Ryuji and Morgana took potshots at one another, Akira went over to the other side of the table with Futaba and Ken, who was for some reason in his full school uniform along with his student council armband. Futaba was next to him, her head rested on the table, currently asleep. Akira looked down at her with a smile and pressed the cold juice can to her cheek, teasing her. “Hey Futaba, time to wake up.”

Futaba groaned, shaking her head. “I’m not supposed to be up this early...  Just give me that sugary goodness so I can feel like I’m not dying.”

Akira handed her the drink as he sat down between her and Ken, the school uniform clad youth so seemingly deep in thought, he barely noticed until Akira tapped him on the shoulder and spoke up. “Hey Amada, I got your coffee for you.”

“Oh, thanks,” Ken responded, taking the can from him and cracking it open.

“Hey Ken,” Futaba spoke, peeking around Akira at him as she nursed her juice. “Why are you in your full school uniform?”

“I think he looks pretty sharp,” Akira added on, giving him a thumbs up.

Ken smirked at the exchange before answering. “It’s an old habit from my SEES days. Back whenever we did Dark Hour operations, be it Tartarus or whatever else, we’d always wear our school uniforms. We didn’t get outfits like you guys do after all.”

“So, we’re just waiting on the arrival of Takeba-san, correct?” Makoto piqued up, sat next to Ann and Haru as they kept petting Koromaru. “It will be interesting to have someone our senior assisting us for a change.”

Ken nervously laughed to himself at the mention of their “senior” before answering. “Yukari’s getting dropped off by Saikawa-san. She mentioned she was ‘taking care of something’, though I’m not quite sure what that means.”

“In the meanwhile though,” Morgana exclaimed, getting everyone’s attention. “We should discuss our plans for today!

“So first up, our current target, Hayato Ito.”

“It’s a little different from our usual style of choosing targets,” Akira added on. “We don’t know anything about the guy or if he really needs a change of heart - but considering he has a Palace when there shouldn’t be any anymore, I think it’s pretty important for us to check this out and do things a little differently.”

Ryuji yawned as he pondered. “I really wonder what the guy’s deal is though. Those two cops - Satonaka and Sanada - are supposed to be seeing what they can find out about him right?”

“Yes, but it will likely be midday until we hear anything back from them,” Makoto answered. “With what Akira and Morgana said, it is likely in our best interest to infiltrate his Palace and see what we can find out for now.”

“I also have a fairly good idea of where his Treasure should be,” Akira said. “There was this ridiculous tower in the world of his Palace, and it stuck out like a sore thumb. I’m willing to bet that’s where we’ll find him and his Treasure.”

Morgana nodded along and then continued. “Second up; I, Futaba, and Akira made a quick stop to check some things out this morning, and we have some good news - Mementos isn’t back.”

“So that rules out it being some sort of return of Yaldabaoth,” replied Makoto. “I suppose that’s good news but…”

“It makes why there’s suddenly a new Palace even more of a mystery,” Akira finished her thought. “What made Hayato Ito’s Shadow manifest and create a Palace?”

Morgana sighed. “That is the bad side of it, but let’s focus on the positive for now.

“Now, next up; the return of the Meta-Nav app on all your phones; in addition” - Morgana looked over at Ken - “It’s also shown up on the phone of our new friend here. We fortunately shouldn’t have to worry about that either. It’s likely the work of my Master.”

Ken arched an eyebrow at that, speaking out at what Morgana had mentioned. “Your ‘Master’? What’s that mean?”

Yusuke finally spoke up for the first time in the conversation, looking toward Akira. “The man with the peculiarly large nose, correct? What was his name again?”

“Igor,” Akira answered. “He’s been appearing in my dreams again, saying he’d lend me his aid, so it seems a pretty safe bet that this is part of it.”

At the mention of Igor, memories flooded Ken Amada’s head, of when he and his friends had been stuck on March 31st all those years ago, stuck traveling the Abyss of Time and the truths they had reached during that time. He remembered how it all ended, when they had all been transported to that mysterious velvet blue elevator, the Velvet Room, a place that apparently existed between dream and reality, mind and matter, and that incredibly odd-looking old man, but he exuded an aura of kindness and courteousness regardless. It had been an odd ending to that seemingly endless day of March 31st, but one that stuck with him, regardless of how much it all felt like a dream.

“...I’ve met Igor before,” Ken finally spoke up again after recalling those memories. “It was a very strange series of events that lead to that meeting.”

“It was quite strange when we met him too, but he seemed like a kind old man,” Haru commented. “We’ll have to tell each other our stories sometimes, Amada-kun.”

“So, is there anything else Morgana?” Ann asked, looking up from petting Koromaru.

“Nope, I think that about covers the information we have now,” Morgana finished, pacing around the table. “We just need to wait for Takeba to arrive now.”

As if on cue, right after saying that, the sounds of a car approaching entered their ears, a black sedan pulling up beside them. Kikuno Saikawa, Mitsuru’s purple-haired maid they had met yesterday, exited from the driver’s seat, greeting them with a small bow. “It is a pleasure to see you again Phantom Thieves of Hearts.”

The maid reached over to the back door and pulled it open, revealing no other than Yukari Takeba. Not just that, but she was in full costume as Pink Argus from her run in Featherman V, exiting the car with a flourish of her pink cape, helmet tucked under her arm, singing a tune as she did. “ _♪Da da da daaa!♪_ ”

Akira felt a whoosh of air as Futaba jumped out of her seat and danced around Yukari, examining the costume in great detail, her eyes filled with childlike wonder. “This is incredible. This is like a dream come true.”

As Futaba continued to nerd out over all the explicit details, the rest of the Phantom Thieves had varying reactions to the outfit, Ryuji being the first to speak out. “Ain’t you a little too old to be playing dress-up lady?”

Yukari huffed at him saying so, giving Ryuji the stink-eye. “Did you just call me old?! I’m in my early 20s, excuse you!”

“Well I mean, you’re closer to your mid-20s really,” Ken mumbled under his breath, glancing over at her. “I mean you are twenty four nOW”

Ken yelped out in pain as Yukari pulled at his ear at the comment. She picked up where she left off after. “Besides, you guys get crazy outfits when you go into this Metaverse right? I gotta blend in! Not to mention, this outfit’s coated in some special anti-Shadow material, courtesy of research by the Shadow Operatives!”

“Oh my gosh, this is the REAL Ultimate Bow!” Futaba exclaimed as she examined the bow slung around Yukari, and then quickly turned her attention to the pistol in her holster. “Wait, is your Evoker actually styled to look like the V-Blaster!? I think I’m gonna faint.”

“Yep!” Yukari confirmed, holding them out so Futaba could get a closer look, enjoying the attention. “It’s thanks to Saikawa-san actually - she’s incredibly talented when it comes to these sort of things.”

Kikuno but smiled and responded with a humble bow. “It is simply my duty Takeba-sama. Now, I must be making my return to Kirijo-sama’s residence.

“Oh, before I depart though,” The maid spoke once more and turned to Yusuke. “Another biscuit Kitagawa-sama?”

She produced a biscuit seemingly from nowhere and Yusuke eagerly took it from her, a blessed look on his face. “Truly, you are an angel descended from the heavens Saikawa-san.”

She smiled and bowed to the group once more. “Until we meet again, best of luck to you on your mission Phantom Thieves.”

With that, she was off, leaving the group fully assembled. Akira looked toward Yukari and Futaba with a warm smile - Takeba probably wasn’t the sort to admit it, but it seemed she had taken a liking to Futaba, enough so to come dressed up in outfit as Pink Argus to impress the young girl. Akira couldn’t even imagine how pleased Futaba was with these events, getting to work alongside one of her heroes like this.

“So Akira, now that we’re all here,” Haru faced him, speaking up as she clapped her hands together. “Are we going to head for the Palace? I must admit, it’s quite exciting for all of us to be working together on a job like this again.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Akira smirked as he replied. “Alright everyone, let’s head out.”

* * *

It wasn’t too soon after that the Phantom Thieves and company would find their vision awash with waves of dark red - the all too familiar sensation for the Phantom Thieves of entering the Metaverse that they hadn’t felt in quite some time. The regular streets of Akihabara melted away, revealing the now bizarre streets of this mysterious Palace of Hayato Ito. Great neon buildings towered around them, arcade machines twisted around them like roots, the whole display shining brightly against the pixelated night sky. What stood out the most was the great tower off in the horizon, neon lights running up along its side, making it stand out among everything else there.

Joker looked down at the phone in his red gloved hand for a moment longer before putting it away in his pocket and surveying his team, their familiar weapons at their sides once more as they appeared with their outfits. Everyone was getting used to the sensation again, and he looked around at where they were - it looked like some kinda entry plaza.

Yukari slipped on the helmet of Pink Argus and completed her costume. She stared at everyone else and their new outfits from behind the reflective visor. “Oh, you guys all call each other by code names in here, don’t you? Is there any reason for that?”

Morgana piped up, jumping onto a nearby bench to make himself more noticeable. “Well you see-”

“It’s because it’s cool!” Oracle shouted out, stepping in front of Morgana. “I mean, we got the whole heist gang aesthetic going on, so we gotta have code names!”

Morgana looked to Joker for aid, only to be betrayed as he agreed with Futaba with a smirk. “Yeah, that’s pretty much it. On that note though, you still haven’t learned everyone else’s have you?”

Morgana sighed, far more expressive in his mascot-like form then he was a regular cat. “I go by Mona while I’m in here.”

Ryuji was next, slinging his spiked baseball bat over his leather jacket, with his striking red ascot and metal skull mask as he answered. “Well, it’s probably pretty obvious by the mask, but I’m Skull.”

“Panther,” Ann said as she motioned to her ridiculous red latex getup, grinning underneath her cat mask as she checked her whip. “It’s a pretty good name, right?”

“And he’s Inari!” Futaba shouted and motioned at Yusuke who looked at her with a look of offense.

“No, I’m Fox!” He replied curtly, his eyes glaring at Oracle beneath his ornate fox mask, the tail tucked into the belt of his black jumpsuit almost seeming to swing with agitation next to his katana. “Stop pushing that name onto me!”

“Queen,” Makoto said, adjusting the spiked tekko over her hands that matched with the rest of her spiky outfit, looking like some post-apocalyptic biker especially with her long scarf draped around her and the iron mask fixed tightly on her face. “It’s the name that came to me as the tactician of our operation you could say.”

“I’m Noir!” Haru exclaimed excitedly, taking off her plumed hat as she bowed like the gentlewoman thief she appeared as, using her axe like a fancy cane. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“You already know about me and Akira,” Futaba gave Yukari a goofy grin as she talked, staring at her from behind her goggles huge orange lenses, motioning toward herself and her skintight black outfit, coursing with fluorescent green strips, “but I’m Oracle, and I handle our team’s navigation!”

“Joker,” Akira nodded toward her with a smirk, fitting for his carefree gentleman thief-like outfit, the black suit and long coat accented by his red gloves and fanciful white mask. “Morgana gave me that code name for my infinite potential as our ace.”

“Ooh ooh!” Oracle spoke up again, jumping up and down excitedly in front of Yukari. “We gotta give you a codename too though! Though we could just call you Pink Argus…”

“A little too straightforward I’d say,” Joker commented. “How about Sniper? Oracle did tell me you’re well-known for your accuracy and skill with a bow.”

Yukari was glad she was wearing this helmet and able to hide her facial expression as she remembered the P-1 Climax in Inaba several years back and how she had been called the “Unsightly Pink Sniper” - but they had no idea about that, and she smiled as she replied. “Well, I can’t argue over it being fitting. Sniper it is.”

Ken Amada in the meanwhile had been busy at work while all this had been taking place, knelt down and taking pieces out of his bag as he reassembled his spear. He was caught by surprise as Oracle grabbed him by the shoulders and leaned over him with a grin. “We gotta come up with a code name for you too Amada-senpai!”

“I don’t need a code name,” Amada replied with a nervous laugh.

“Yeah you do!” Oracle shook him back and forth, before she came up with an idea. “I know, considering you’re in your complete student uniform and proudly displaying our student council armband like our proud student council president, how about we call you Prez!”

“...Prez?” Ken laughed, looking back at her with a sympathetic smile. “I don’t really think I need a code-”

Ken stopped in his words as he stared at her giving that goofy smile he always saw her with, with how excited she was for this whole idea and he let out an accepting sigh. “Fine, Prez it is.”

As Futaba cheered to herself for coming up with his codename, Ken reached into his bag for last one thing, fishing out a knife and tossing it into the air, Koromaru promptly catching it with his mouth like it was nothing. His own composure was broken as Futaba squealed as she saw the sight. “Koromaru uses a knife!? Why is your dog so cool Ken!? HE’S SO COOL!”

Koromaru wagged his tail, walking around the pair as Morgana cried out. “I use a sword! I’m cool aren’t I!?”

“Well, you don’t use that sword with your mouth though,” Futaba murmured. “Nor are you walking around on four legs… I mean, Koromaru’s just way more impressive.”

Morgana seemed deflated at being told that, but he puffed himself back up, jumping off the bench with a declaration. “Okay everyone, that tower is our most clear goal right now, and fortunately, it looks like we got a pretty straight shot for it! So let’s hit the road and-”

Morgana was cut off as a series of massive gray blocks crashed down in front of their only exit and blocking their way forward. As they did so, the neon buildings around them morphed in color, becoming a fiery red, pulsing like a powerful fire would. Finally, the blocks stopped, color rushing to them and creating some kind of 8-bit demon. It began to chortle a low-quality laugh, like you’d hear from the limited sounds you’d have in an old retro game, a tune playing along as it gazed upon the Phantom Thieves and company. As Akira stared upon it, he could swear he recognized it - and it was Futaba who reminded him.

“The Legend of Gambla Goemon!” She shouted out, pointing at the demon.

As everyone else looked to her for further explanation, she crossed her arms, glad to give it as she explained away. “It’s an old game based on a folklore tale about how the legendary thief, Ishikawa Goemon, falls down into hell and has to escape. The game presents this through a series of gambling minigames that the demons challenge Goemon to as he makes his way out of hell, his only betting chip being his very soul!”

Futaba nodded along with a big smile, very proud of her explanation and knowledge of such approximate info. The group’s attention was only called away as the 8-bit demon munched it’s teeth up and down, a great textbox appearing before it. “So the deceitful thief who ravaged the world has shamelessly entered this infernal domain… I shall show you the true tortures of hell…”

It glowered down at them, before it began laughing once more, the textbox continuing along as two large dice appeared in its hand. “At least, I would… but it’d be boring to treat the famous Goemon the same as any old person. Instead we shall use the two dice in my hand for a little game. I call it… Odds or evens!”

The textbox continued along, explaining the very simple rules of the game. As it did though, everyone was surprised as Yusuke stepped forward. He stood with a fiery determination in front of the demon, seemingly ready to take it straight on.

“Uh, Fox,” Ryuji was the first to speak, his voice filled with confusion. “What are you doing, bro?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Yusuke twirled back around to face his friends, throwing his arm out in a dramatic pose as he answered. “This pathetic whelp challenges me and my Persona! I cannot simply let this grave offense toward us go unanswered, so I shall accept this demon’s little game!”

“Inari, were you even listening to me-” Futaba sighed, her voice filled with exasperation - only to be cut off as Yusuke tore his mask free and shouted out;

_“Goemon!”_

In a glorious burst of blue flame, Yusuke’s Persona, Goemon, came to life in between him and the massive 8-bit demon, in all the Persona’s tradition Japanese glory. Goemon stared the demon down, sizing it up before he took a puff of his massive pipe, ready to play the demon’s game.

The demon chortled once more, a great grin appearing on its face as the textbox scrolled along once more. “This game will be decided with the best two out of three - now Goemon, make your bet… Odds or evens?”

“Odds!” Yusuke shouted forth, placing his first bet.

The demon sent the dice rolling, clattering along the roadside. The first came to a stop landing on a one, the second soon following and landing on two - the final result being a three and Yusuke successfully winning the first bet! The demon screamed out in agony upon seeing the result, its textbox shaking with fury. “Odds!?

“Fine, the first point goes to you Goemon! The game is just beginning though and now we move onto our second round, so I ask you once more - Odds or evens?!”

Yusuke laughed, filled with confidence as he made his second bet everyone only able to watch this ridiculous display as it unfolded before them. “Evens!”

A confidant smirk lined Yusuke’s face, so much so that he believed he had this so handily in the bag, that it took him a full moment afterwards to realize that the dice had been rolled and landed… On a two and a three, the result of course being five - an odd number. Yusuke couldn’t believe it as he saw, both him and Goemon recoiling back in shock at the result, being as over-dramatic as possible.

The demon chortled, holding the dice aloft one more final time, taunting him. “ Ahahaha! A point for me, and one more round to go! Now, what is your final choice Goemon - Odds or evens?”

“Inari, don’t you dare make your last bet,” Oracle growled at him, “there’s more to this game than you under-”

“O-Odds!” Yusuke ignored her as he stammered out his final bet, the demon chortling along as he threw the dice for the final time.

In that moment, the tension was the heaviest thing in universe for Yusuke, feeling like he could collapse underneath the weight. The whole world seemed to move in slow motion for the blue-haired youth, and with every clunk of the dice, his body tensed up even further. The first landed - a four and the second dice still rolled away. The world seemed still as it finally came to a stop, a wave of relief about come over Yusuke as it seemed to land on a five - only for it to suddenly flip over as if by some otherworldly force over to six, the final result being a nice and even 10.

Yusuke collapsed to his knees, Goemon dispersing into a shower of blue sparks as his fox mask reappeared with a puff of flame on his face. The demon chortled away, having won the gamble and proven itself victorious. As the rest of the Phantom Thieves looked upon this ridiculous scene, Futaba especially seemed about ready to choke the life out of Yusuke. She was only stopped as the 8-bit demon’s textbox materialized once more.

“How tragic for you Goemon, to meet with such a horrible fate! How fortunate of me to be your downfall though! Ahahahaha! Now, down to the very depths of hell with you!”

The concrete below the group’s feet seemed to shift, the very ground becoming unstable and quicksand-like, pulling them down into it. Despite their best efforts, they could not free themselves as it began to twist and turn, pulling them into the center of this bizarre whirlpool and underneath the very earth. As they were pulled in, darkness overtaking their visions, the last thing they heard was the demon chortling along, taunting them as they disappeared.

* * *

 It was unknown to them how long it had been since the Phantom Thieves and company had been pulled down into the “depths of hell”, but they had finally emerged somewhere, coming to as they came through the ceiling of a very large cavern… Very high up in the air, and falling immediately. Of course, there was varying levels of reaction to this situation, most of them having no way out of it - but Futaba was quick to react, reaching to the goggles on her face and ripping them loose as she yelled;

_“Necronomicon!”_

Inky black tentacles shot forth from the mysterious UFO that materialized around Futaba, grabbing several members of their group. Unfortunately, Futaba hadn’t reacted quite fast enough, several of her teammates still falling to the ground below - the first of which was Ken Amada who fell with a resounding thud, flat on his backside. He let out a groan of pain from the sudden fall, but he seemed otherwise okay and he began to pick himself up slowly - only to be knocked down again as Koromaru and Morgana landed on top of him, causing him to collapse back to the ground.

Koromaru barked at him, licking Ken’s face in appreciation while Morgana spoke up. “Yeah, thanks for breaking our fall, Prez.”

Ken could only let out an affirmative groan, trying to get himself through the pain. Meanwhile, on the other side of the cavern, Ryuji had also missed getting picked up by a tentacle, but he landed on both his feet, a jolt of pain shooting through him, but managing to avoid letting his legs buckled underneath him. He let out a sigh of relief, glad to have landed so smoothly - only to be knocked to the ground as Ann crashed on top of him.

Ann let out a groan of pain, splayed out over him. “Geez Skull, try to be a little softer next time.”

“I wouldn’t need to be softer if ya didn’t land on top of me!” Ryuji growled out in pain, pushing her off him as he tried to get back on his feet. “Goddamn, that friggin’ hurt.”

Finally, Yusuke came crashing down as well, splayed out as dramatically as possible on the floor. Necronomicon soon followed after, gently putting down those it had managed to wrap up in its tentacles - Akira, Makoto, Haru, and Yukari. After it did that, it disappeared in a puff of blue flame, Futaba gently landing where it had once been, her goggles rematerializing as she did.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting that,” Yukari mumbled underneath her helmet, stretching out after that bizarre ride. “Is everyone okay?”

Ken put up a weak thumbs up in response as he replied, Morgana and Koromaru tending to him. “I’m alive… Just give me 5 minutes please.”

Skull and Panther replied similarly, still bickering with one another as they did. The only one who didn’t was Yusuke, still splayed on the ground, his eyes shut. Haru was the first to rush over to him, kneeling down and raising him up with a cry. “Fox?! Are you okay?!”

“Leave me,” Yusuke groaned in response. “To suffer such a humiliating defeat… I deserve to be left where I am now. From now I will rot here for the rest of time - go on without me.”

With that, Yusuke’s body went limp, his head lulling to the side as Haru shook him harder and cried out. He was only snapped out of it as Futaba came up and delivered a swift kick to his gut.

“Why - how dare you!” Yusuke’s eyes shot open and he rose up as he shouted at Futaba. “Kicking a man while he’s down -”

“Nuh uh, you don’t get play the big dramatic loss Inari!” Futaba yelled at him, kicking him once more as she began to mock him, dramatic arm poses and all. “You just had to be all ‘oh this pathetic whelp insults me and my Persona!’ instead of listening to me! If you had maybe you would have known the probability was fixed against us and you would have let me do something about it, but noooo, you had to play Mister Honor!”

Yusuke shot back up to his feet, completely fine, much to Haru’s shock as she watched the scene unfold before her. “Why you insufferable little child-”

“Child?!” Futaba growled at him, glaring at him from behind her orange goggles. “I’m only a year younger than you, ya dingus! C’mon, you wanna fight!? Put up your dukes!”

Before Oracle and Fox could go at it, probably as pathetically as possible with their noodle arms, Haru stepped in between them, separating the two of them as she tried to barter peace. “Please you two! No fighting!

“Mistakes were made, but we won’t make any progress if you two start to go at it,” Haru sighed, looking at the two of them. “We still don’t even know where we are now.”

Futaba huffed out in frustration, her cheeks puffing out as she glared at Yusuke. “Fiiine - but the moment we’re outta here, I’m coming for you Inari!”

“So be it!”  Yusuke replied. “We will decide this with a proper duel once we make our escape!”

Haru could only sigh in exasperation at the two of them going at it again, even with her deeply sympathetic nature. While all this had been going on though, Akira had been surveying where they landed - this mysterious cavern. The walls and floor were coarse and rough, and all around them were massive piles of junks - colossal collections of broken arcade machines and video game consoles stacked as high as the ceiling would let them. He looked curiously around at it all - it seemed as if they were in some sort of video game landfill.

As he did, he noticed he had incidentally made his way over to where Ken was still laid out on the ground. Akira offered a helping hand to pull him up - but Amada ignored it, opting to pick himself up, fixing his uniform as he got back up on his own two feet. He looked over at him with a side-eyed glare before letting out a sigh. “So Joker, any idea where we are?”

“It’s a very strange looking place,” Makoto spoke up, walking over to them.

“It sort of looks like a landfill of some sorts,” Akira theorized, rubbing his chin in thought. “Maybe this is where Ito puts away all his junk.”

“I guess he considers us part of that junk,” Morgana piqued up, looking up at the group as they reassembled. “Us falling down here was probably part of his plan - we probably wouldn’t find ourselves here otherwise.”

“Well regardless of his plans,” Makoto added, motioning to the other side of the cavern. “It appears there’s a way forward for us over there, so we should make our way-”

The group’s attention was turned away as a large screen descended from the ceiling, appearing from thin air. It came to life with a hiss of static, an image of a ragged-looking man with long black hair in a skull-lined throne staring back at them in the garbs of a demonic king. His golden eyes glared at them from behind his spectacles as he swirled a glass of wine, like some sort of cliched villain, but they all had the same inkling as to who this man could be.

“So, the infamous Phantom Thieves themselves dare to intrude upon the realm of I, the great Hayato Ito,” Hayato Ito - or his Shadow more specifically - taunted them. “To think I would be granted the pleasure of putting down rats such as yourselves!

“You’ve already fallen for my first trap so handedly, but there would be no fun to the chase if I didn’t toy with you more,” He laughed maniacally. “Thus, this is will only be-”

“Endless Dragon!” Futaba suddenly shouted out, cutting off Ito’s ridiculous card-carrying villain speech and catching everyone’s attention. “You're wearing the outfit of the Demon King from the first Endless Dragon game! I knew I recognized it from somewhere!”

“Finally, someone gets the reference!” Ito exclaimed. “None of my servants seem to understand! It’s so hard to find good help these days.”

Makoto leaned over to Futaba, quite confused at the current exchange. “... Endless Dragon?”

“Geez Queen, you don’t know Endless Dragon?” Futaba scoffed. “It’s only one of the greatest and longest running RPG series ever!”

Futaba and Hayato’s Shadow kept nodding along in agreement with each other at this statement, much to everyone’s confusement. It only stopped once Hayato finally stopped mid-nod, and realized how off track he had just gone, throwing his wine glass down in frustration, catching the group’s attention again with the shattering of glass.

“Enough of these games - your tricks won’t fool me Phantom Thieves!” Hayato shouted at them. “Up ahead, I have prepared quite the deadly game for you, one you will surely not pass! Though if you do, you may yet find yourselves closer to your goal - but I doubt that will ever happen!”

Ito began to laugh maniacally once more, but quickly stopped, eyeing up the group once more. “Wait, is that Pink Argus from Featherman V with you?”

“Heck yeah it is!” Futaba exclaimed, motioning to Yukari. “Isn’t she the greate-”

“This will make your defeat even sweeter, considering Featherman V is the _worst_!” Hayato growled. “I mean, to deviate from series tradition so much and make Pink Argus the team leader - what were they even thinking?”

Yukari Takeba’s face wasn’t visible under the helmet of Pink Argus she wore, but the agitation in her body language was very clear - and besides, the anger Futaba showed on her face was enough for the both of them, as she growled back. “Oh, now I see why we need to bring forth a Change of Heart in you! We’re gonna make you see the errors of your ways!”

“Pff, even if you changed my heart,” Hayato guffawed, “I doubt I’d stop considering Featherman V an awful show. I mean there’s just so much wron-”

Futaba had been ready to shout back at him - only for the screen to be obliterated as a spear pierced through it, cutting off the transmission for good. Of course only one person in their group used spears, and it was increasingly obvious as they all turned to Ken, who was still frozen in throwing position, a deadly serious look on his face. He seemed to regain his nerves right after, quickly straightening out his posture, but incredibly embarrassed as he realized all eyes were on him.

“Ken!” Futaba rushed up to him with a cheer and hugged him much to his surprise. “To show such dedication to your love of Featherman - truly I couldn’t ask for a better friend.”

“W-what?!” Ken stammered, pushing her away as his face turned red. “I’m not a huge fan of Featherman or anything! I was just getting really tired of that guy, that’s all!”

Futaba looked up at him with her big goofy grin, the group feeling a sense of ease wash over them with the ridiculous exchange. Akira could only chuckle at the two of them as Ken badly lied about how he didn’t love Featherman. He decided to let him off the hook somewhat, garnering everyone’s attention as he addressed the group once more. “Well thanks to Ken, we’re no longer being distracted by Ito’s taunting. He still apparently has some kind of game awaiting us ahead though, so let’s move out and get ready for that.”

With that, they headed out once more, going down the only path they had available. The cavern path was dark, but they were still able to find their way. As they neared the end, a familiar tune entered Akira’s ears once more, another song from one of the retro games he had played. Before he could quite put his finger on it, he realized what it was as a grimace formed on Futaba’s face as she realized it before him, but that gave him all the indication he needed and he looked at her with a smirk as they exited the tunnel and entered an impossibly larger cavern that held within it a gigantic underground city, the silhouettes of massive skyscrapers only visible thanks to their many lit up windows. They were on a perch overlooking a very large area filled with a massive crowd of Shadows which were all gathered around four trains set behind a starting line.

“It’s the Train of Life,” Futaba groaned, looking at Akira with a look of defeat.

“The hell’s the Train of Life?” Ryuji asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

“It’s a videogame boardgame,” Akira answered while Futaba mourned. “Me and Futaba would actually play it against one another a bunch - and she’d lose to me everytime.”

“Don’t remind me,” Futaba cried. “To be more specific though, it’s a board game set up as race between a bunch of trains. You roll the dice, go forward, choose what path you wanna go and hope you end up getting to the end of the course before the other trains.”

“So, the grand game Hayato Ito has set up for us is a train race?” Makoto contemplated as she tried to get a look at the odd display off in the distance. “That seems rather peculiar.”

“Is this how all your Shadow dealings go?” Yukari looked over at them, speaking out. “Man, I wish we had it as easy as you guys.”

“Well, it’s never been like this,” Haru commented, looking back at the woman. “This has probably been the strangest Palace we’ve ever been in actually.”

“We’re still just starting out after all,” said Morgana. “He probably has a bunch of things planned for us still, so don’t let your guards down.”

The group made their way down a narrow pathway from the overlook, getting down to the bizarre train starting line. As they did, to their surprise they met a Shadow, one of the kinds Akira and them had met the day previous, blocky and with only a few frames of animation. It held aloft a sign with a pixelated rendition of the Phantom Thieves logo, and looked at them as they approached.

“You guys the Phantom Thieves of Heart?” A textbox scrolled along as they approached.

“Uhhh, yeah, that’s us,” Ryuji answered, his confusion at the sight mirroring everyone else’s

“All right, follow me,” The textbox popped up once more, and then the Shadow started walking an odd walk, their only clear option being to go along with this oddity.

They soon reached the starting line they had beheld a few minutes earlier, bleachers surrounding it packed to the brim with Shadows, who all seemed to be glaring at them with hatred. Their Shadow escort came to a stop in front of one of the trains and turned back to them, it’s textbox appearing once more. “All right, here’s your train. Good luck.”

With that, the Shadow walked off once more, leaving everyone in a state of bewildered confusion. Well almost everyone, Yukari noticing one of them had suddenly disappeared. “Hey, where did Oracl-”

“Oh man, they got the hat!” Futaba’s voice came shouting from the train’s engine car, having already run up ahead of everyone.

She peeked out from there at the rest of them, a conductor’s hat on her head. “I’m driving the train!”

Akira smirked as they began to inspect this old-fashioned train, ripped straight from some kind of old west movie. “All right, let’s all get aboard and figure things out everyone. I’m sure this race will be getting started soon.”

As they did so, the Shadow audience seemed to be abuzz as an announcer came in over the speakers. “Hello everyone and welcome to the great annual Train of Life Race! Today’s race will be on the advanced course! Now let’s introduce our contenders!”

“First up, we got the Outlaws!” The crowd burst into applause at the group of Shadows in bandanas and cowboy hats at the first train, who shot their guns into the air in response. “A long time crowd favorite!”

“Next, we have the Fancy Folk!” The crowd continued their wild whooping and applause, as a group of very calm looking Shadows in fancy masks and suits boarded the next train. “They say they’ll get their passengers there in first place or the ride will be free!”

“Third up we have the Regular Train Engineers!” The crowd absolutely lost it at the announcer saying that and a bunch of shadows that looked like just a bunch of regular train crew waved at them as they tended to their train. “The long time champions!”

“And now for our final contenders - the Phantom Thieves of Hearts,” A storm of boos and jeers came crashing down from the audience, the Phantom Thieves and company only able to look at it with a look of bemusement. “The true underdogs of the race - they’re only here because our gracious Lord Hayato Ito decided to entertain them!”

“Screw all of you too!” Futaba leaned out from a window, barking at the audience, who replied with even more boos.

“Now without further ado, it’s time for this race to get started!” The announcer blared, the Shadowy audience stirring with excitement. “Contenders, start your engines! Three… two… one….”

The starting shot blared and off the trains went, the great race beginning.

* * *

 This had probably been the most bizarre day of Ken Amada’s life.

He sat on the roof of their train’s back carriage, his legs dangling off the back, spear over his shoulder, as he stayed on the lookout for any trouble along with Koromaru, Akira, and Yukari, while Yusuke guarded Futaba at the driver’s seat and the rest of the crew were in the carriage they stood on, prepared to take on whatever trouble came along if it did. Ken felt the air rush past him as they rode down the rails, the lights of the odd dark skyscrapers that surrounded them became nothing but trails of light that zoomed past, accenting this already strange journey, as he became lost in thought.

Ken Amada wanted to live a quiet life, get good grades and do good in school. He had left the Shadow Operatives to do just that - so why had he been so eager to jump on to this crazy adventure with the Phantom Thieves? He thought back to last night when they had met up with Mitsuru, how he said it had been because he wanted to help them because he started to consider them his friends - but Futaba’s grin he had grown accustomed to seeing all the time as they started becoming friends jumped foremost in his mind.

What was with this feeling? It sorta made him feel sick, but not in a bad way. He was only pulled out of his contemplation as he felt a tap on his shoulder, turning back to see the helmet of Pink Argus staring down at him.

“Hey there,” Yukari spoke up, sitting down next to him. “You doing okay? You’re looking a bit off.”

“It’s nothing Yukari,” Ken responded, looking at her with a smile. “You know, it’s really hard to talk to you with that helmet on.”

She laughed, pulling it off and revealing her face once more. “What are you doing calling me Yukari? Remember, we got code names to keep up!”

The two of them laughed at that before Yukari continued. “You know, after all the stuff we’ve been through, it’s sorta nice to deal with Shadows in some kind of wacky train race. The Phantom Thieves sure have an interesting way of doing things.

“But, they’re pretty good kids - I was surprised Mitsuru just asked them straight up to help though,” Yukari pondered.

“She probably learned her lesson after what happened in Inaba,” Ken answered. “I remember Chie telling me Mitsuru asked Yu and them to stay out of it and that the Shadow Operatives would take care of things - but of course they got involved anyway. Knowing what we do about the Phantom Thieves, they’d have probably done the same. Better to just work with them right?”

Yukari smirked as she kept talking. “That definitely sounds like them.”

A sly grin then formed on her face as she took a teasing tone with Ken as she continued. “On the topic of the Phantom Thieves though - Futaba’s pretty great, isn’t she?”

“She’s a good friend and she’s been very helpful on the student cou-” Ken replied genuinely, before he picked up on what Yukari was implying, and he began to stammer as a blush overtook his face. “W-w-wait, w-what are you implying?!”

On the other side of the train carriage, Akira couldn’t hear the exchange, but he could see the two of them reminiscing and a smile formed on his face at it. Koromaru walked next to him, the both of them surveying for trouble, the dog looking up to him with a quizzical head tilt.

“This must be what Sojiro feels like whenever Morgana is around,” Akira laughed to himself and his inability to not quite understand the dog - though he did understand when a sharp bark soon followed after, Koromaru barking away at something off in the distance.

“What is it Koromaru-” Akira began, stopping in speech as he saw what Koromaru had seen.

He quickly stomped down on the roof, giving the others the signal.

* * *

 Ann lounged on a long sofa inside the train carriage, glad to be getting some relaxation in. She looked over at Makoto, who was still up and about, pacing back and forth, and called over to her. “Hey Makoooo-chan, don’t worry so much, take a seat like the rest of us.”

“I’m just curious about the nature of this Hayato Ito,” Makoto pondered as she kept on pacing. “This may be judging a book by it’s cover, but he sort of seemed a bit like a shut-in NEET of sorts, didn’t he?”

Haru leaned over her axe, keeping its head to the ground while she sat in one of the carriage’s chairs. “Perhaps…  His Palace is quite interesting though, isn’t it? My father’s Palace was quite absurd as well, but this also reminds me of your sister’s Palace, Mako-chan. We had to follow the rules of her casino, like how we have to follow the rules of Ito’s game right now.”

“Man, I wish we could just tear some shit up,” Ryuji grumbled, peering out one of the nearby windows. “This guy just pulled us right into his shit though.”

“I worry about how much use my Persona will be on a train,” Makoto commented, a bit of concern coming to her face. “Not much room to maneuver a motorcycle here.”

“Don’t worry Queen, I’m sure you’ll figure something out,” Morgana commented, leaping up onto the backside of the sofa Ann was laying on. “Futaba’s got the train moving at a good pace, so I’m sure it will be no time till we’re through here and back to-”

Morgana was cut off, a loud series of thud coming through the roof as Akira stomped down on the train’s roof, the others realizing that was the signal for trouble.

“Check the windows everyone!” Morgana yelled out, everyone getting to positions. “We need to figure out what’s coming for us!”

Everyone was quickly out of their seats and looking out, Makoto being the first to shout out. “Left side clear!”

“Can’t say the same for the right side - it’s those friggin’ Outlaw guys!” Ryuji growled as he pushed a window open and pulled his shotgun out.

The others rushed over, readying their weapons as well as they saw the wild train of the Outlaws fast approaching on an adjacent track, dozens of the cowboy hat-wearing Shadows clinging to their train like a bunch of roaches as it swerved back and forth, looking like it was going to derail. The bizarre Shadows began firing their revolvers at them, a hail of gunfire forcing the Phantom Thieves to take cover.

The Outlaws didn’t have as much recourse as the Phantom Thieves fired back, a large explosion rocking the side of their train and blowing a large number of them to bits as Haru relentlessly fired her grenade launcher at them. Unfortunately, the Outlaws were just as relentless, their numbers still being as large as ever as their train drew closer and knocked around so wildly, they rammed into the Phantom Thieves’ train and tearing a hole open in their train’s carriage, causing them to have to pull back as Shadows started taking the chance to leap in after them, the fight spilling inside.

The same had followed suit for those on the roof of the train, several arrows shooting forth with deadly accuracy and piercing several Shadows down before they could even land, Yukari’s aim true as ever. She then span around, delivering a kick to another and knocking it off the train and sent it tumbling to the speeding ground below. Several more tried to charge her, only for Ken to charge them instead, piercing them through with his spear making them explode in a shower of shadowy motes. A sharp howl then followed, Cerberus sparking to life, his three massive heads biting down and tearing shadows apart as Koromaru dashed around Akira, who was wildly firing his pistol at the approaching Shadows who surrounded him.

_“Isis!”_

The crack of a gunshot was followed by a tornado of wind storming around Akira and Koromaru, blowing the Shadows away and off into the darkness. The source of it was a colorful Persona floating behind Yukari, looking somewhat Egyptian-inspired, with half a woman’s torso, the head off a bull, but also the face of a human, a large red mirror in between its’ massive horns, all accented by its colorful wings. It was quite the odd-looking Persona, but Akira was glad it had saved his butt, giving Yukari a smirk as she grinned back at him, sprinting over to join the two.

Ken swung his spear, knocking several more of the Outlaw Shadows off the train, but several more took their place and instead of just charging toward him, they merged in front of his eyes and into some sort of humanoid abomination, with six arms, six six-shooters in each of them, and six masks glaring at him with a ridiculous cowboy hat topping it all off.

He was sent flying across the train with a pistol whip, tumbling over to Akira, Yukari, and Koromaru at the front. It aimed its revolvers at them, a volley of gunfire coming toward them as Akira tore his mask from his face.

_“Shiki-Ouji!”_

A origami giant appeared before them, the bullets melting away as the Persona guarded the four of them with a barrier, nullifying the bullets. It kept shooting though and Akira used his strength to keep Shiki-Ouji up to protect them against the Shadow’s seemingly endless hail of bullets.

While all this had been going on, Futaba suddenly found herself cornered by several of the Shadows, pointing their guns at her as she backed up against the train’s control panel, a look of panic on her face - which was soon alleviated as a katana sliced through the Shadows, Yusuke easily obliterating them.

Futaba let out a sigh of relief as she saw him. “Thanks Fox! Just keep on watching my back - I’ll get this train going so we can outrun these stupid cowboy Shadows!”

“I do hope the others are doing all right,” Yusuke said, trying to see if he could see the roof, before looking back to Futaba once more. “...My apologies for earlier by the way.”

“Pff, it’s fine,” Futaba snickered, looking back at him as she worked the train’s controls. “I’m sorry for kicking ya.”

Inside of the carriage, the fight still raged on, Ryuji bringing his bat down hard on one of the Shadows, pushing it to the ground where he kept beating until it was a puddle of black goop. He hadn’t even noticed the one sneaking up behind him - but he didn’t need to as a whip wrapped around its neck and flung it backwards, Ann pulling it to the ground with a wicked smirk where Haru promptly brought her axe slamming down on its neck, the Shadow exploding into motes of darkness.

Another was sent flying through the train, colliding with the wall and similarly being dispatched by Makoto’s mighty punch, Morgana having to duck as it cruised over him. She stared up to the roof, hearing the endless cacophony of gunshots and shouted to the others as she ran to the back exit of the carriage. “I’m gonna go help Joker and the others!”

“Oh come on!” Yukari screamed in frustration, while Akira struggled under the pressure. “How many bullets does this stupid thing have?!”

They had not been provided a single opportunity to counter the massive Shadow’s endless volley of revolver fire and it inched ever closer, making the strain on Akira to keep up Shiki-Ouji to protect them greater and greater. The Persona started to flicker, Akira’s focus wearing thin, Ken, Yukari, and Koromaru getting ready to attempt to charge the thing the moment it bust through their defenses. Fortunately they didn’t have as a loud shout and the revving of an engine filled their ears.

_“Johanna!”_

The Shadow’s own attention had been directed toward the sudden shout, and it turned around to be greeted by a glowing blue motorcycle smashing into it, it’s wheels grinding into the abominable Shadow’s masks, turning them to dust and utterly destroying the Shadow, liquefying it into a pool of vicious black ichor. The motorcycle then skidded to a stop in front of the group, a smirk on the face of Makoto as she looked at them from it.

“Your Persona’s a MOTORCYCLE?!” Yukari gaped in amazement at her.

Makoto laughed out loud at that, and looked at her with a smile as she stepped off the

bike, her Persona disappearing and her mask reappearing with a puff of blue flame. “Yeah, looks like I showed up just in time. You okay?”

“A little worn out, but fine otherwise,” Akira replied with a grin. “Thanks Queen.”

Unfortunately, the attack was still on-going, more Shadows springing to life on the train adjacent to them. They got ready to fight them back; only to not have to.

_“Carmen!”_

_“Captain Kidd!”_

Ryuji and Ann had pushed the Shadows back far enough and were now leaning out the hole that had been gashed into their train as their Personas bursted to life with a blast of blue flame. The fire swirled around the seductive femme fatale Carmen as she danced, destroying any Shadows that dared approached, her mere puppets of men chained to her slapping down any that got too close. The skeletal pirate cruising on his ship, Captain Kidd, held up his cannon arm, charging with energy, any Shadows that tried to interrupt him being struck down by Carmen.

An explosion rang out as Captain Kidd finally shot his cannon, a powerful blast of energy smashing against the Outlaws’ train and hitting it with enough force it was sent flying off the rails and off into the distance, going up with a glorious burst of flame. With that, Captain Kidd lowered his still smoking cannon as him and Carmen disappeared, Ann and Ryuji’s masks reappearing on their faces as everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. The assault had finally been ended.

“Finally,” Yukari heaved, letting herself collapse. “I haven’t done this much intense fighting in way too long. I’m exhausted.”

Akira smirked as he walked over to the edge of the train, leaning over the hole that had been torn into it and shouted in. “All of you doing okay in there?”

“We’re fine!” Haru shouted back up at him, leaning out the hole with Ann and Ryuji, the three of them looking up to him. “Are you all quite all right?”

“No problems here,” Akira replied, nodding back to them. “Just tired.”

Up at the train controls, Futaba stared on determinedly ahead, Yusuke letting out a sigh of exhaustion. “Well it seems all of that is finally over. Are we getting any closer to our destination, Oracle?”

“Yep, yep!” Futaba looked over to him as she nodded and replied. “We just gotta get over the bridge ahead and we should be-”

A gigantic explosion went off ahead of them and the bridge they were about to cross over now no longer existed, now all that was there being a giant gorge. A giant gorge that the train of the Phantom Thieves and company were heading for at an extremely high speed.

“...In… the… lead,” Futaba stammered, her body shaking until suddenly she screamed as she processed what had just happened. “AAAAAAH!”

The situation was similar for everyone else as they saw what had just happened, and they barely were able to hold on to their footing as Futaba slammed on the brakes, desperately trying to stop the train before they all died a horrible crushing death. Akira was the first to notice that they weren’t slowing down fast enough and began sprinting for the end of the train as he shouted out. “Everyone off the train now!”

It was a mad dash, everyone clearing the train with a series of dives and rolls, Ken jumping off with Koromaru in his arms. Finally, they all managed to get off safely… Just in time to see their train roll right off the edge and into the gorge, the sound of crashing and twisting metal following a minute after as it was completely obliterated. They could all only stare in shock as their chances of victory were completely shattered before their very eyes.

“Uh,” Ken stammered, Koromaru still wiggling away in his arms,”what do we do now?”

“Goddamn! That Ito guy was playing us!” Ryuji growled, stomping away his frustrations. “He probably planned for this shit to happen all along.”

“It’s not like a Palace ruler has ever played by their own rules before,” Morgana said, pacing at the gorge’s edge. “So we’ll just have to come up with our way of breaking those rules back like always.”

As they considered their options, the first one to speak up was a surprise - for it was Koromaru barking in Ken’s arms. Morgana looked at him with a start, bug-eyed, before it clicked and the cat began laughing it up. “Oh, now that is a good idea!”

Akira laughed along with him, that famous smirk of his lining his face, knowing just what idea the dog had as he stared at another train off in the distance.

“It’s time to check another heist off our bucket list.”

* * *

The Shadows of the Fancy Folk train were living it up, living the rich life as always, as they went about at their own pace. Why, they were far too busy to even consider what the strange thumping they briefly heard on the ceiling was as they laughed away, in their fancy suits and fancy masks. It was similarly so for the pair of engineers of this fine machine, working away as they always did, planning to win the race even though they were in last place. It was only when they heard footsteps behind them that they were brought out of their reverie and turned around, an orange-haired girl with glowing orange-lensed goggles and an ill-fitting conductor’s hat staring at them with a malicious grin.

“Hey, you’re not supposed to be h-” one of the Shadow engineers had begun to say with a distorted voice, only to be cut short as an arrow pierced his mask, stealing the Shadow’s life away as it exploded into a mess of dark red particles.

The remaining engineer’s attention had turned to seeing his partner die before his very eyes and as he turned back to the girl - who was now joined by three other figures in as ridiculous outfits - a woman in a pink cape, a young woman in a spiky leather getup, and a young man in a fox mask spouting the same malicious grins as the orange-haired girl. He barely had time to scream as they tore into him.

Of course, the fancy folk of the Fancy Folk didn’t even notice, living the life of luxury in this train ride. Unfortunately them, they would be rudely interrupted as both the front and back entrances of their carriages shot open, part of a nefarious group stepping through - the Phantom Thieves of Hearts!

“This is a train robbery, so nobody try anything funny,” Morgana shouted out to the Shadows, before pointing his slingshot at Koromaru who had come in with him and Haru at the back entrance, “or the dog gets it!”

“You fiendish rapscallions!” shouted out a fanciful Shadow from the other end of the train car. “To threaten this innocent dog like this, you won’t get away-”

A shotgun butt from the front entrance to the carriage slammed into the Shadow’s mask, knocking it clean from its face and dissipating the Shadow, Ryuji glaring at the rest of them as he stepped in with Ann leaning over his shoulder with a fiendish grin. “Anybody else wanna try to be a hero?”

The Shadows immediately threw their hands up and Morgana snickered to himself, his and Koromaru’s great acting truly winning the day, before he continued shouting demands. “Now my lovely assistants - Noir and Panther - shall collect your valuables! Put ‘em into the bags or else!”

The Fancy Folk Shadows complied and the sacks Ann and Haru carried soon became bloated with cash, much to the Phantom Thieves’ delight. Finally the group closed in on the last Shadow in the middle of the car, who seemed to be ignoring them. Ryuji cocked his shotgun and pointed at the oddly quiet Shadow as he shouted. “Hey pal, didn’t ya hear the message? Money in the bag.”

It slowly turned its mask to face them, a sense of dread along with it. Before the Phantom Thieves could figure out what that weird sense of dread was, they had that question answered for them as the Shadow exploded with a wave of darkness.

* * *

The Phantom Thieves’ plan to hijack the Fancy Folk train and get back in the race was put into motion, as they realized if they hoofed it, they could probably cut off the last place train at the pass and take it over. They had successfully landed on the train from an overpass and everyone was in motion - Futaba, Makoto, Yukari, and Yusuke heading to the engine to take over the controls while Morgana and Koromaru with the ridiculous plan the dog and cat had come up with together, lead Haru, Ann, and Ryuji in robbing the train’s riders - because after all, it wouldn’t be a proper train heist without a little train robbery.

Akira and Ken in the meanwhile had awaited on the roof of the train, awaiting for the inevitable response by the Palace’s security. Ken sighed, as the scenery zoomed by once more. “I can’t believe Koromaru came up with part of this ridiculous train robbery plan.”

“He’s a natural Phantom Thief,” Akira replied, smirking back at him. “I gotta say, I’m impressed how well him and Mona work together.”

“In my opinion, I think that cat’s starting to be a bad influence on him,” Ken joked. “I mean Koromaru wasn’t planning train heists before all this.”

The two of them laughed it up at this, but their good times were soon cut short as a storm of pixels came down onto the train, several of the bizarre 8-bit Shadows bursting to life around them, a text box appearing as they did. “YOU DARE DEFY THE RULES OF OUR LORD?! YOU SHALL BE PUNISHED BY THE HIGHEST DEG-”

The text box and several of the Shadows exploded as Kala-Nemi burst onto the scene with the crack of a gunshot, waves of holy energy tearing the Shadows apart. Arsene soon followed, ripping them to shreds with his vicious claws. The Shadows refused to stop though, Ken and Akira pushed back to back as they got surrounded, the 8-bit beasts closing in on them. Ken readied his Evoker, ready to summon Kala-Nemi once more - only for Akira’s shouting voice to interrupt him.

_“Pale Rider!”_

With a whinny, a spectral white horse saddled by the grim reaper himself appeared, his skull glaring at Shadows. He raised his scythe and with a mighty swing, a wave of deadly sharp energy cutting through them, making a great number burst apart, the shadowy pixels going every which way from the sheer shockwave. With that, the Pale Rider disappeared, but the Shadows weren’t done, still charging toward the two Persona-users. Unfortunately for them, Akira wasn’t done either;

_“Yoshitsune!”_

The extravagant Japanese swordsman appear, his two blades cleaving through the Shadows with ease as he slashed away an elegant dance, Akira dancing away with him as he deftly slashed away with his dagger, weaving through the Shadows with his dexterous footwork. One Shadow charged for him, ready to wrap its arms around him and grapple the trickster - only for Akira to flip over the Shadow with a great leap and landed on the Shadow’s very shoulders, the last thing it saw being Akira’s red gloved hands at it ripped the Shadow’s mask off, utterly destroying it as a stream of black ichor spewed forth.

Ken could only watch as Akira single-handedly tore through the Shadows like they were paper and that ugly feeling rose through him again, like a disgusting bile. That feeling of jealously and envy as Akira barely broke a sweat - that feeling of “why is he so much better than me?”, of how Futaba acted around him. Those toxic thoughts distracted him so much that he only noticed just in time as a Shadow ambushed him, Ken raising his Evoker to his temple and shouting out. “Kala-”

_*Click*_

The world felt like it stopped for Ken Amada for a brief moment, as he watched in terror as the Shadow swung at him. He could survive that; it would hurt, but he would be fine. What had truly terrified him was hearing that click come from his Evoker - that wasn’t supposed to happen. As it did, he felt a terrible pressure against his chest, pushing down on his heart, trying to squeeze and tug it out of him. That feeling terrified him because along with it came with another feeling; why hadn’t Kala-Nemi come out? It almost seemed like Ken’s Persona had refused to come out, that it had rejected him.

This terrible feeling was far greater than the pain he felt as the Shadow struck him, sending him bouncing along the train’s hard metal roof. The Shadow gave chase to follow up its attack on the young man - only for Arsene to shoot toward him, his claws tearing it asunder. Akira ran up to Ken who was laying flat on his back, looking straight up at seemingly nothing, his eyes filled with dread.

“Ken!” Akira shouted and crouched down to help him up. “Are you alright?”

Ken shook his head and gritted his teeth, pulling himself back up to his feet with Akira’s help as he replied, lying to himself and Akira. “Yeah, I’m fine - I just got caught off guard. That’s all.”

“Good,” Akira said, getting back into a combat-ready stance. “Because they’re still coming.”

Ken and Akira both got ready as more Shadows materialized at the back of the train, their masks leering at the pair, beginning to inch their way toward the pair - or they were until a giant sharklike jaw erupted from the backside of the train from within, chomping down on the Shadow’s with its massive maw and chewing away at them. Ken and Akira could only stare in shock as it did so, seeing this new massive Shadow that had appeared before them like some kind of abominable sharkman-thing. It raised an arm, pulling up one of the Fancy Folk Shadows and chomping down on it as well and it grew slightly bigger as it munched away.

Ken and Akira were only snapped out of it as they heard the sound of gunshots and the yelling of Morgana, Ann, Haru, and Ryuji, along with the barking of Koromaru at this thing that had just materialized on the train. Ryuji shouted out, cursing to himself. “This goddamn asshole just starts eating every Shadow on the train and starts getting bigger and bigger and won’t go fucking down!”

The huge sharkman Shadow barely seemed to care about being shot in the legs, but it did seem to care about something else, it's terrible hungry eyes turning to Ken and Akira, black ichor dripping from its open maw as a low growl emanated from it. Of course, the two Persona-users were quick to receive the message - taking off with a full sprint toward the engine car as the huge Shadow chased after them, absolutely destroying the passenger car in its wake.

They leaped down to the engine car as Ryuji, Haru, Ann, Morgana and Koromaru came bursting out the door and over to it. The group looked at each other with panic as the Shadow charged toward them. Futaba, Ryuji, Makoto, and Yukari turned to look at them Futaba curious as to why they were all there. “Hey why are you guys all- AAAH!”

The massive Shadow laid its huge hands on the sides of the engine car, shaking it with all of them in as it let out a massive roar, trying to chomp them down whole in its massive jaws. Ryuji reached up and tore his mask free, Captain Kidd bursting to life and smashing into the sharkman’s body mass with a powerful tackle, pushing it back but it was still holding on ever so slightly. It only fell backwards as Thor came charging in after from Akira, the two Personas able to push the Shadow back, making it fall onto its back with a resounding thud against the floor of the mostly destroyed passenger car.

“Mona, do it now!” Akira shouted at the cat as he leaped over to the train’s connecting line.

“On it Joker!” Morgana replied, raising his scimitar up and slicing through the cars’ connecting lines, separating the passenger and engine cars, the massive sharkman Shadow being left behind on it, the Shadow too slow to catch up as they sped off without it.

They all let out another collective sigh of relief as the danger passed, though they were all now crammed together in the very small control room of the engine car. Ryuji snarled and looked over Ann. “Ann, you’re elbowing me right in the gut!”

Ann shot back trying to push her way around. “Well I’ve got this huge sack of cash and I’m trying to make sure we don’t lose it!”

“Would you two stop being such children?” Makoto sighed, glaring over at the pair and causing them to shut up immediately. She then turned her attention over to Akira, “Joker, do you have any ideas?”

“One, just - excuse me,” Akira began as he squeezed through everyone and made his way to the front where Futaba was squished against the control panel. “Oracle, there’s no way we can get in the lead normally where we are now right?”

“Yeah, but I know what you’re thinking,” Futaba sighed, turning her orange lenses to him, “and are you sure you wanna do _that_?”

“Wait, what’s _that_ ?” Ken spoke up as he squeezed over too. “I don’t like the inflection you’re putting on _that_.”

“It’s the only way we can win the race is what it is,” Akira answered. “Though it’s a gamble.”

“I trust in you to make that gamble Joker,” Futaba said as she grinned up at him. “Just don’t let Inari do it!”

“Bah, I just had a terrible roll of the dice!” Yusuke retorted at the comment.

“I dunno man, your poker face during all that Gambla Goemon shit was pretty bad,” Ryuji said. “I think you’re way too dramatic for the gambling game bro.”

“I’m inclined to actually agree with Skull for once,” Makoto remarked.

“I mean I’ve only known you since last night,” Yukari pondered aloud, “but yeaaaah.”

Ann nodded along as this metaphorical train of dumping on Yusuke continued on this literal train. “Yeah, seriously, not a hint of a gambler’s spirit from you.”

“I’m sorry Fox,” Haru laughed nervously, “but they do make a good point.”

Koromaru barked and Morgana nodded at him with, crossing his arms as the two spoke. “Yeah, even you could've probably done a better job than him Koromaru.”

“To think my own teammates would wound me so,” Yusuke cried out, clutching at his chest “If only the Shadows knew, they could have been spared the job.”

As the others kept their spirits up, Ken, Akira, and Futaba were looking out the front window as the train went off the main path and into a wooded area, which was pretty strange considering they were in the middle of a giant underground city, but this whole Palace was weird. Ken turned to the two of them, wondering what was going on. “Where exactly are we going?”

“You might wanna hold on to something Prez.”

“Huh why-”

Everyone was knocked around as a giant hole opened up in the ground, swallowing their train whole. Everything went dark and a hushed silent fell over the group - until suddenly a spotlight shone down on them and a gigantic cannon with a pair of cartoon eyes in front of them. The cannon started shouting at them with a huge textbox. “The name’s Artie… Artie Lury, the free-wheeling cannon! If you don’t give me a number I like, I’m gonna blast you all the way back to the beginning!”

“Uh, that doesn’t sound goo-” Ryuji started grumbling until Futaba shushed him as the textbox scrolled along.

“I’m all for multiples of four! That mean you can get either four, eight, or twelve!” Artie’s textbox scrolled. “Basically, if the sum of the two dice you roll is a multiple of four, you win! Naturally you’ll have four shots at it. Now if you win, let’s see...

“I’ll blast you to the finish line!”

Everyone looked in shock at the revelation, Makoto being the first to speak up. “So I suppose this is a true ‘heaven or hell’ situation. We don’t have much choice regardless do we?”

“Well we’d lose anyway if we didn’t,” Ryuji added, “and winning the race like this would be the best way piss of that piece of shit Ito after he’s yanked us around this whole time.”

“The probability is likely stacked against us,” Futaba explained, looking back at everyone. “I should be able to hack into his cognition and turn it to our favor, but we’ll need to get the dice rolling first. Hopefully by the fourth roll I should get it… But hold on tight everybody.”

As she said so, a shockwave rocked the train as Artie fired a shot into the air, two dice shooting forth and rolling away - the result being a three. Artie lined up another shot as a series of holographic screens appeared around Futaba and she tapped away - the dice resulted in a ten. Oracle diligently worked away, everyone watching in silence as the tension built, a jitter going through the group as the third cannon shot sounded - a nine. Artie reared back once more, getting ready to shoot off the final shot as Futaba clicked away at the final bit and -

“All right that should do it,” She finished, the green screens around her disappearing. “At least I hope.”

The final blast of the cannon shot forth, the dice rolling and both landing on two - the final result being a four. Everyone let out a cheer and Akira pat Futaba on the head and looked down at her with a smile. “Good work Oracle.”

“T-t-thanks Joker…” Futaba stammered, blushing at the praise.

“Hey, you did it!” Artie’s textbox showed up once more, the giant cartoon cannon grinning at them. “As I promised, I’ll shoot you on over to the finish line!”

Ken watched the proceedings and a thought occurred to him. “Wait, what does he mean by ‘shoot’ us to finish line?”

Futaba looked at him and then everyone else and responded matter-of-factly. “Oh, I was being literal when I told you guys to hold on tight earlier.”

“Wait wha-”

The rest of the Phantom Thieves and company barely had time to process as Artie sucked their whole train into himself as the hole that had swallowed them whole earlier opened back up, Artie swiveling around and aiming as best as he could. An explosion rang out as their entire train went cruising through the air when Artie shot them loose, everyone screaming as loudly as possible as they did.

* * *

“And the Regular Train Engineers are almost to the finish line!” The announcer blared as the crowd went absolutely wild. “Truly it was a surprise to no one they would be our reigning champs once more!

“Meanwhile, the Phantom Thieves are nowhere to be seen! Once again, surprising no one!” The announcer jeered, the audience hooting and hollering. “Now let’s watch as- wait, what’s that in the sky?!”

The crowd of Shadows in seats around the finish line turned their gazes to the sky, a distant twinkle catching all their attention. They soon realized what it was - a train flying through the air at an insanely high speed with the sound of tons of screaming. It landed with a heavy crash in front of the Regular Train Engineers’ train, but amazingly it had done so perfectly on its wheels right onto one of the tracks. The audience was in stunned silence as it crossed the finish line, skidding to a stop and winning the race, a shower of confetti coming down.

Ryuji immediately came tumbling out of the lone engine car, screaming as loud as ever as he fell to the ground on his hands and knees, kissing it as he cried. “Oh god, I’ve never been happier to be on the ground! I never wanna ride a flying train again my whole damn life.”

The rest of the Phantom Thieves came out as if it was nothing, the audience erupting into boos and jeers, incredibly mad that the Phantom Thieves had just stole the win. Futaba threw the conductor’s hat into the air and stuck her tongue out at them, taunting them even more, the audience absolutely losing it.

“Hey Futaba,” Ken whispered at her. “Maybe turn it down a bit?”

“Heck no I’m not gonna turn it down! Screw all these Shadows!”

“I think they’re about to-”

The Shadows started rising from their seats, brandishing weapons and bashing their way through the bleachers, destroying anything in their path. They were all about to riot because of the Phantom Thieves’ victory and were marching straight toward them, ready to beat them down. Fortunately, the riot was cut short as a large screen came to life and they all faced it, prostrating themselves as Hayato Ito showed up once more.

“H-h-how did you WIN?!” Ito screamed, the screen shaking from his fury. “YOU WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO WIN!”

Akira stepped forward with his infamous smirk, running a hand through his frizzy hair. “That’s just what we do, sorry about that.”

Hayato gripped at the handles of his throne, his knuckles going white, his golden eyes filled with rage. It seemed like he was going to froth at the mouth before he let out a passive-aggressive sigh. “Fine then, you won. I’ll keep up my end of the deal.”

Ito snapped his fingers and a swirling aura of blue light appeared in front of the Phantom Thieves, the screen snapping off as it did, his Shadow subjects very confused but not acting on their earlier riot plans. Ryuji finally picked himself off of the sweet ground, looking at the strange thing that had materialized in front of them. “The hell is that?”

“It’s a portal!” Futaba shouted out, explaining. “If we go in it, we’ll be returned to the start of the dunge- I mean Palace!”

“Can’t believe he cheaped out and didn’t give us a heart container though…” Futaba grumbled under her breath.

“Man, this Ito guy is a bit of a weird one...” Morgana sighed.

“Oracle, is the portal safe?” Akira asked, turning to her.

“Oh yeah, don’t worry,” Futaba answered nodding. “It’s coming up all clean.”

“So if it’s taking us back to the start of the Palace,” Makoto began, “we’ll be back in front of that odds and evens demons, correct?”

“Don’t worry, I got that taken care of too,”  continued Futaba and then looked to Yusuke with a grin. “And it’s gonna be all up to Inari!”

“Wait, why are you putting your faith in me?” Yusuke looked to her with a start.

“Eh, gotta give you your gambling revenge,” Futaba shrugged. “Don’t worry, it should be pretty easy.”

With that decided, the Phantom Thieves stepped into the portal and were blinded by a overwhelming blue light. It soon faded though and they found themselves back where this day had begun; the little entrance plaza surrounded by the neon buildings of the upper levels of the palace. Yusuke wasted not a moment immediately stomping up to large 8-bit demon, shouting to it once more.

“I have returned from the depths of hell, you demonic wretch, and this time I will prove victorious over you!”

The demon let out its’ harsh sounding chortle once more as its textbox appeared. “To think you would dare to challenge me again Goemon! Let us play again but this time we will decide it all with a single match! Now then Goemon - odds or evens?”

“Odds!” Yusuke shouted out, his eyes filled with fiery determination.

The dice went rolling and unfortunately it looked as if they were about to land on an 8; but as the demon chortled away, Yusuke ripped his mask off with a flourish, Goemon appearing a magnificent display and his hand aglow with a holy light. It shone so bright the demon was blinded by the very presence and as it finally faded and the demon was able to look, the unthinkable had happened - the dice result was now a 5, much like the number emblazoned on Goemon’s very outfit.

The demon let out an agonizing cry of defeat as Yusuke laughed victoriously, Goemon simply disappearing with a nod and Yusuke’s mask reappearing with a proudful puff of flame. The others could just watch this ridiculous display as Yusuke just kept laughing and the demon kept screaming.

“Are… You guys always like this?” Ken turned to Futaba with the question.

“I’d say this is one of our better days,” Futaba replied with her big grin, “but honestly, yeah pretty much.”

“...How long are they gonna keep it up?” Makoto droned. “I think Yusuke’s been laughing and that demon’s been screaming for almost a full minute now.”

As this scene continued, a sudden look of panic overcame Futaba’s face. “Fox, I’m getting a reading, get away from that demon!”

“Ha, why would I ever do that? I wish to savor its humili-”

The demon’s screaming grew extremely distorted and high pitched - and then promptly exploded, knocking Yusuke back to the rest of the group as black ichor sprayed and pooled around where it once was, shaping itself into a giant figure before it cleared away - an actual demon, radiating with darkness, now standing there. It stood there, with four massive arms, its skin blue and black, a spout of flame shooting from its head and covering its torso. It lacked any kind of normal face, but they could still feel a dark intent from it as it glared down at them.

“So you pitiful fools think you can overcome our great lord Ito?” The demon laughed, holding aloft its four hands, orbs of fire alighting in each. “I shall teach you an important lesson in humility!”

It shot the fire forth, the spheres shooting like meteors and exploding with as much force as the Phantom Thieves and co. dodged out of the way. Ann moved around to the demon’s side, reaching to her mask.

_“Milady!”_

The Persona, clad in a proper lady’s victorian garb, appeared with a burst of energy, laughing haughtily as she hovered over the demon. She raised her fan and swiped it at the demon, a wave of psychic energy causing it to double over. The demon fought back, pushing itself back to the ground and looking up to Milady once more, only to see her dress had opened up to reveal a very powerful set of gatling guns spun up underneath, unleashing a hail of bullets upon the beast.

The terrible demon growled and groaned as it was pelted by bullets, but roared back, sending a wave of fire toward Milady and violently dispersing her, a shock of pain shooting through Haru as it did. She screamed and almost fell to her knees but Akira caught her, helping her back up on her feet.

“Thank you Joker,” Haru said.

“No problem,” Joker replied with a smile. “Now, what could this guy be weak to… Yusuke!”

A whip of wind cracked against the demon’s back, Isis and Zorro dancing around it as Morgana and Yukari leaped in. Sharp winds struck at it all over, the demon screaming in pain, growing more and more frustrated until it let out a massive shout and a blazing hellfire exploded around it, Isis and Zorro getting caught in it and Morgana and Yukari were knocked back painfully.

“Hey asshole, over here!” Ryuji shouted, as he tore his mask off and his blood spurted out, igniting into blue flames as it did.

Captain Kidd appeared once more, beginning a volley of cannon fire, strong blasts impacting against the demon’s massive form. It grunted, starting to slowly work its way toward Captain Kidd, heavy thud after thud with each cannonball and the demon’s own footsteps. Just as it was about reach a hand around Captain Kidd’s skeletal throat though -

_“Goemon!”_

A massive burst of ice collided with the demon, making him recoil back in pain more than anything else had. It cried out, only for another blast of ice to hit, pushing it back, and again and again as Yusuke stepped forward marching toward it, badly beaten but still with plenty of fight left in him, Goemon holding a hand out behind him, being the source of the ice blasts. Yusuke began to laugh once more as the demon cried out in more and more pain, clearly weak to ice, and he channeled his strength into one more blow - the demon was completely encased in ice and then it exploded with force, completely draining the demon of power as the chunks exploded away from it.

It still lived, but it fell to its knees, barely any strength left in it. The demon tried to raise its hands, to get off one more attack; but it had been surrounded by the group, all of the Phantom Thieves pointing their firearms at the demon, Yukari pointing her bow, Ken pointing his spear, and Koromaru growling away.

“H-h-hey wait,” The demon prostrated itself before Joker as it began to pathetically beg. “Please don’t kill me! I’m sure we can work something out!”

Joker smirked at the demon, but decided to entertain it as he cocked back the hammer of his pistol. “Well then, I offer you a choice - Join our cause and rebel with us against your leader, this Hayato Ito, and dethrone him once for all - or die.”

“...You make a good point, I… Wait…” The demon stood up to its feet, a strange blue glow surrounding it now, “I remember now!”

The blue glow grew intense, any traces of darkness now gone as the demon kept talking. “I am thou and thou art I! I am Mada and from this day forward I will fight alongside you!”

The demon - Mada - exploded into a shower of blue sparks, all of them zooming toward Akira’s mask and it briefly glew as it accepted a new Persona into its fold. Akira smirked, glad to have a new power, before noticing Ken and Yukari were staring at him in amazement again.

“Wait; is that how you get a new Persona?!” Yukari marveled. “That’s amazing!”

“I thought the Shadow Operatives knew other Wild Cards?” Joker smirked, looking over at her. “How did they get new Personas?”

“Well I’m not actually sure,” pondered Yukari, “but it definitely wasn’t like that!”

“Alright enough babbling about how amazing Joker is!” Morgana exclaimed, leaping up and down to get everyone’s attention. “We got a plan to discuss!”

“I dunno I could do with a little more talking about how amazing Joker is,” joked Futaba.

“Oh, I’m suuure you could,” Morgana teased, before screeching out in pain as Futaba pulled at his ears. “OW OW OW OW STOP IT!”

Makoto smirked as she picked up the slack. “Morgana’s right; we got a straight shot to the tower now. We don’t know what’s waiting for us there, but is everyone prepared for this?”

“With how much this guy is all about video games,” Ryuji said, “it’s definitely gotta be the Treasure at the top of the tower along with probably the final big boss.”

“I don’t play many games but that does seem a sound assumption,” Haru agreed.

“I look forward to seeing what kind of dangers await us in his…” Futaba creeped over, waggling her fingers. “Tower of DOOOOOOM.”

“Oh, I got a question,” Yukari spoke up. “I’ve begun to understand Palaces, but what exactly is this treasure deal? You didn’t really go over that part last night.”

“Oh, a Treasure is basically a manifestation of a person’s heart,” Morgana explained. “If we take it, it will force a change of heart in that person, making them completely different from how they used to be - there is one caveat though, which is that it doesn’t form unless the actual person in the real world feels threatened that their guilt or whatever else will be exposed.”

“Oh, so that’s why you guys always sent those calling cards!” exclaimed Yukari.

“Yep, you got it!” Morgana praised her. “That’s why we always went after powerful scumbags - Kamoshida, Madarame, Kaneshiro, Okumura, and Shido - the kind of people who did terrible things to get to where they were.”

“Don’t forget about how you stole my heart too, I mean I was the greatest scumbag of them all!” Futaba joked. “To think you’d topple my entire criminal empire! It was such a shame!”

“Wait, did you really have a Palace too Futaba?” Yukari said with a start.

Futaba let out a sigh and chuckled. “Yeah I did… I wasn’t exactly in the best place in my life then…” - Futaba cracked her wide grin and looked over at everyone, lingering for a bit on Akira - “But these guys all saved me. I was able to remember who I really was and awakened to my Persona.”

“Besides Futaba, there were others we went into the Palaces of…” Makoto said, looking to her feet before smiling as well. “My sister, Sae, was one of them, but we didn’t actually steal her treasure. She was able to come to her change of heart by herself.”

“Was what happened linked to your father’s death?” Ken asked, looking to Haru. “It’s okay if you don’t want to answer though Haru.”

“... We successfully changed my father’s heart, but Shido, in fear of him exposing his secrets about using the Metaverse for his own gain had an agent of his kill his Shadow in the Metaverse,” Haru explained somberly. “I can only hope my father was able to find some peace in his heart before he passed though, and Shido is in prison where he belongs.”

“So wait,” Ken began, “killing their Shadow in that person’s Palace will trigger their death?”

“That’s correct,” Morgana answered. “That’s why we usually try to take great care.”

“Yeah, we usually just beat the stuffing outta them until they admit they’re wrong,” Ryuji said with a shrug. “Then they cry and go back to their real-self’s consciousness or whatever. Then we take the Treasure, which destroys the Palace and triggers the change of heart, bing bang boom.”

“I mean that’s a gross oversimplification,” Morgana said, “but that’s pretty much it.

“Anyway, I think that’s enough Palace 101, is everyone ready to hit the road again?”

Yusuke spoke up. “I believe I’m as ready as can ever be. That fight was quite draining but I feel fine after getting to rest for a moment.”

“I’m 100% ready and raring to go!” Ann exclaimed, flexing her arms.

“Yeah ‘cuz you got to nap on the train,” Ryuji said, glaring at her.

“Shut up Skull!” Ann spat back.

* * *

The eleven of them made their way, and it had been surprisingly simple. The streets were somewhat maze-like, but that was barely an issue and they didn’t have to deal with any Shadows on their way there. It was oddly quiet and peaceful, but it was good to have the break after the hectic train race. Finally, they arrived at the final stretch; the bright neon tower (the Tower of Doom as dubbed by Futaba) loomed over them, stretching away into the dark sky.

“Man, I hope they got an elevator,” Ryuji said as he stretched his legs. “I really don’t wanna go up that many stairs.”

“Up close, it actually looks like there’s a staircase that spirals around the outside” Makoto said. “Though I do indeed share the sentiment.”

“What, have you guys never played a video game before?” spoke Futaba as she tried to peak around the tower. “It’s totally gonna be only the stairs; it’s the big ascent before the final boss! It’s all dramatic and there’ll probably be a big rush of tough enemies.”

“It’s almost as tall as Tartarus…” Yukari sighed. “We had to climb that one all the way up too.”

“Well at least this tower doesn’t look like a monster hell towe-” Ken began, only to cut himself short as the very ground they were on started shaking.

They all looked around in a panic, trying to figure out what was causing this sudden earthquake. It wasn’t until Akira decided to look up that they figured out what it was; a gigantic alien saucer now flew over head, like some kind of invading mothership. It was so big it blotted out the rest of the sky, the pixelated stars and moon no longer visible.

Akira gulped as he looked over to Futaba. “That’s the final boss of Star Forneus.”

Futaba continued his train of thought. “It is, and if it’s just like the final boss of Star Forneus…”

Futaba and Akira both shouted out simultaneous as they started booking it, “Run!”

It didn’t take the others to long to catch on as the alien mothership above lit up like the fireworks display at a big summer festival in Tokyo. A storm of laser beams, energy bolts, and plasma shots came down like a furious rainstorm, scorching everything around them. They had to find cover and fast; the tower was the obvious goal for that; or it was until a thousand more weapons started sprouting out from every level of the tower adding even more coal to the fire. The eleven of them made quick span around, avoiding the hail from above and behind them, trying to leave from where they came from… Only to be greeted as a platoon of futuristic tanks blocked off their only escape and fired off a volley of energy slugs, fire coming at them now from every possible direction and leaving them nowhere to hide as it all closed in on them and -

_“Final Guard!”_

A massive cloud of debris and dust rose up from the sheer firepower that had been directed at them; giving the Phantom Thieves and their allies the briefest moment of respite after Futaba pulled on all her strength to erect a one-use barrier that had just saved their lives. Futaba let out a groan, almost collapsing from how ridiculous that just was.

“Everyone, we have seconds,” Akira began. “We need to take out that mothership, those tanks, and get into the tower without being disintegrated.”

“How are we supposed to take out that huge fucking frisbee!?” Ryuji cursed. “It’s fucking a billion miles up in the air!”

Futaba panted and stood straight up, her eyes filled with a steely determination. “Leave that to me.

“If this guy wants to go against me in a shmup, oh he has another thing coming,” Futaba said. “I’m a dang master! Lunatic? No problem. Ultra Nighmare? Ain’t a thing!”

“You think you can handle this Futaba?” Akira asked her, his eyes filled with concern, but a belief in her. “Your Persona doesn’t even have offensive capabilities.”

“Heh, it doesn’t right _now_ ,” Futaba smirked. “Ito wants a fight though and that makes adjusting his cognition so he believes I can way too easy.

“I just won’t be able to hit that tower or the tanks below though and once he’s realized what’s going on... Well there’s only so much bullet hell even I can handle.”

Akira nodded and then looked toward the rest of the group, shouting out his last orders as the last of their cover began to dissipate. “Ken, Morgana, and Koromaru; you’re with me, we’re charging that tower! The rest of you take out that tank platoon!”

The mothership, the tanks, and the tower weaponry set their sights on the massive cloud of debris, ready to shoot again at first sight of the Phantom Thieves. The cloud began to rise and disappear… Only for the unexpected to happen.

_“Necronomicon!”_

The glowing green UFO came bursting out top, a shower of green lasers firing from it, drawing the attention of the army which quickly adjusted their aim to fire at it -

_“Mada!”_

_“Johanna!”_

The remaining ten came charging out, split into two groups and splitting the focus of the Ito’s massive army of weapons. Makoto came charging out on aboard her motorcycle Persona, Yukari riding on the backside with her, barreling right toward the tanks. A large blue explosion came forth, obliterating one of the tanks, and with the familiar crack of Yukari’s Evoker, Isis burst to life and a gust of wind so strong started blowing, it was enough to send a tank flying into the neon building.

The remaining tanks focused their aim, ready to cut off the fast motorcycle before it got any closer them; only to be consumed by a barrage of rockets as Milady appeared, an entire artillery station sticking out of the bottom of her dress as the Persona haughtily laughed along with her user, as Haru charged forth with Ryuji, Ann, and Yusuke, weapons raised as they charged to take out the rest of the tanks.

During all this on the other side of the dust cloud came sprinting out at Akira, Ken, Morgana, and Koromaru, the demon they had turn to their side only minutes earlier - Mada - now floating in front them with a magicked barrier as it acted as Akira’s Persona. The lasers shot desperately but Akira held onto his focus as tight as he could to keep Mada up as they charged for the tower’s hefty doors.

Koromaru howled and his collar sparked as Cerberus came to life once more, Zorro alongside him at Morgana’s command. They combined their might and a twister of fiery darkness smashed into the door, weakening it to near-breaking point. Ken raised his Evoker once more and the familiar sensation flooded back to him with the sound of a gunshot as Kala-Nemi appeared once more, the Persona charging the door down with sheer force and breaking it to pieces. They all ran inside, and began fighting their way up, determined to take the tower down.

Necronomicon rose high into the sky, becoming level with the massive alien mothership. It responded immediately, a hellfire of bullets storming toward it. The UFO dodged and weaved like it was nothing though, avoiding the bullets with ease. Futaba smirked all the meanwhile in the soft green glow of her seat inside and began to press away at buttons.

“My turn now asshole.”

A solid green laser came firing out Necronomicon and began to work its way along the hull of the entire mothership, destroying whatever weapons it came along. The mothership kept firing, but Futaba kept dodging, whittling away at the massive ship as hard as she could with her laser.

* * *

  _“Kala-Nemi!”_

Kala-Nemi’s arms came crashing down, destroying another of the massive energy cannons position all along the tower’s outside. As they slammed down, waves of holy energy emanated out, obliterating the Shadows that tried to rush Ken while he seemed defenseless.

Ken was sure by this point, as the four of them ascended the tower together with ease, that what had happened earlier on the train was some kind of fluke - a trick of the mind - and nothing else than that. He felt like he was in control of himself again, and he probably had just messed up with the Evoker trigger earlier; it had been a while after all. That’s what he told himself at least.

They were very high up now and drawing closer to the top. Which is why it was astoundingly effective as Morgana used Zorro to blow the legions of Shadow chasing after them off the steps and right off the tower, splatting them to the street below. Morgana shot a grin at Koromaru as the dog howled, unleashing the flames of Cerberus upon the rest of the Shadows that followed, burning them to cinders.

“We’re almost there!” Akira shouted back from ahead.

Akira tore his mask off as they neared yet another cannon placement and Thor crashed

his hammer down atop it, bolts of electricity arcing out and wiping out the nearby Shadows. Still they kept running, the fight grueling and tough. Finally though, they reached the peak of the tower, Zorro destroying the final cannon with razor sharp winds.

Or it would have been the last one, but there was still one more - the strongest of all being a huge battery, shooting out massive slugs atop the chamber at the very top of the tower that they now stood in front of another huge, bulky door. Ken and Akira looked at each other and nodded as they readied themselves.

“3…2…1…” Akira began counting down, all four of them taking a step back.

The door crumbled as it was attacked by four powerful blows from four Personas simultaneously. They ran in and what was revealed to them was -

* * *

_“Carmen!”_

Geysers of flame erupted around the dancer, burning holes through the futuristic tanks surrounding her. Ann charged forward, leaping onto one of the destroyed tanks as she directed Carmen to another; only for Yusuke to step in with Goemon, freezing the tanks to the shattering point and shatter they did as a cannonball rang out from Captain Kidd. He missed one, but Ryuji was there to cover for it, charging in with his hefty baseball bat and swinging hard enough to break the frozen solid tank himself.

“Oh hell yeah!” Ryuji shouted, sprinkles of ice raining down around him. “Bro, nothing feels better than shattering a _fucking tank_! This is incredible!”

“It is quite invigorating, I must admit,” Yusuke replied. “To feel such a rush again; I can feel my next great painting coming to me!”

As this conversation went on, Makoto flew past them on Johanna, Yukari still clinging to her desperately as the rode along, weaving through the tanks that could barely stay caught up to such a fast target. One almost did seem to get a lock on her; only for a gigantic armor-piercing shot to drill through a vital component and exploded into flames. Haru and Milady waved at the two as they sped by before they turned their focus back to the other tanks.

“Alright Sniper,” Makoto shouted over the loud revving of her engine. “Who do you think we should target?”

“There might be a command unit in charge of these things!” Yukari shouted back. “If we take that out, it might throw the other tanks off!”

“Good idea!” Makoto shouted, revving up Johanna and speeding even further.

They shot past the tanks, going for the back of the platoon; the most likely place a command unit would be. They’re guess turned out to be right, a shining tank that stood out from the others extremely so, decorated immensely with trinkets befitting of its rank. Makoto grinned at how dumb Shadows could be as she charged them straight toward it -

Only to have to hit the brakes as hard as she could as another, gigantic Shadow emerged from the ground, it’s massive maw crunching down on the shining command tank and biting it into little pieces. Yukari and Makoto recognized the Shadow immediately; it was the bizarre Sharkman one, the very same they had cut loose and run away from during the Train of Life race earlier. Now, it was staring at them with those huge, nefarious and hungry eyes.

Makoto pulled a 180, bike speeding off in the direction they had come, both girls screaming as the Shadow stomped after them, destroying every tank in its wake.

* * *

 “So finally, the Phantom Thieves decide to gift me with their presence.”

In front of Ken Amada, Akira Kurusu, Morgana, and Koromaru, sat in his throne and sipping away at a cup of wine was no other then the man who had taunting them this entire time; Hayato Ito. He smirked a lecherous smirk at them as he placed his glass down on his armrest, getting up and standing triumphantly, his kingly demonic armor shining in the light.

“So while you’re friends battle my armies,” Ito spoke, “you think you four are strong enough to challenge me alone?”

He swiped at the wine glass sitting on the armrest, sending it flying, and glass shattering every which way as he screamed at them. “You are nothing to me! You’ve dared to enter my realm and cause all this trouble!”

“...Wait, if he’s here,” Morgana whispered loudly to Akira while this show was going on. “Where’s his Treasure?”

“My Treasure you say?” Ito smirked, overhearing them. “I keep it with me always.”

He reached to his hip and unsheathed a brilliant blade, aglow with dark energies. He began to laugh more and more, seeming to grow crazier by the second as the darkness swirled around him.

“Wait, didn’t you say the Treasure couldn’t materialize unless you sent out a calling card?!” Ken exclaimed, looking to Morgana with bewilderment. Koromaru barked alongside him, probably asking the same question.

“Is he lying Morgana?” Akira asked calmly, looking to Morgana himself. “I mean his Treasure can’t be materialized right?”

Morgana’s face was filled with shock; he was bug-eyed and his mouth hung open as he stammered. “T-that _is_ his Treasure! I can feel it; but this shouldn’t be possible! This is breaking all the rules! Why, how, when-”

Hayato Ito screamed a bloody scream, the dark energies exploding away from him. The walls and roof around them crumbled to pieces, the four of them barely able to stay on their feet. The giant battery gun was destroyed along with it, but they now had a much worse problem. Ito stood there with a wild grin on his face, the air blowing around them all wildly now that they no longer had the cover of the chamber at the highest altitude of this entire Palace.

Ito began to convulse violently as he laughed, darkness overflowing from his, black ichor covering his entire body, transforming him into something new. Something worse. He grew twice in size towering over the four who went against him as the ichor melted away from him. His skin had turned dark and bumpy, but rough and tough. Massive claws grew from his fingertips, destroying the gauntlets of his armor as he gripped his huge blade even tighter. Four massive horns grew from his head, his long hair even more of a mess than before. He opened his mouth, now filled with razor sharp teeth, and a huge disgusting purple forked tongue flopped out, dripping that disgusting black ichor.

Finally he stared at them with pupiless red eyes, filled with murderous intent as he started laughing like he had just heard the funniest thing ever. “Oh you pathetic fools, those who dared to wander into MY realm.

“You now face the might of my true form as _Satanachia_ , the lord of the demonic armies!” Satanachia screamed at them and pointed his dark blade - his Treasure - right at them. “And now you will pay the price… Your lives!”

Satanachia sped toward them, Ken and Akira barely having time to blink as he slammed his blade in front of them, a huge blast of darkness erupting forth and sending them flying. Fortunately they didn’t fly right off the edge of the tower, managing to grab at some debris before they went too far. Satanachia screamed, ready to charge the two once more; only to have notice a little too late the dog and cat who had avoided his attack with their superior animal instincts.

Zorro and Cerberus burst forth in a blaze of blue fire, Morgana and Koromaru following up with their one-two combo. Satanachia was consumed in a twister of flame, screaming in agony as it swirled around him. It didn’t last long though as he swung his blade once more, more dark energy erupting and destroying Zorro and Cerberus as well as sending Morgana and Koromaru flying.

Morgana tumbled along with enough force he was about to fall off the very edge of the tower. “Oh god no I’m gonna fa-”

He was stopped just in time as Koromaru bit down, grabbing Morgana by the bandana before the cat plummeted to his death. Morgana let out a cry of joy as the dog got to work pulling him back up. “Oh thank you so much Koromaru!”

Two holy blasts smashed into Satanachia after his attack on Koromaru and Morgana, Akira and Ken rushing up behind him with Horus and Kala-Nemi summoned by their sides. Satanachia recoiled back as he was pelted over and over again but he let out a terrible scream, both Personas disappearing from the sheer force of it as Ken and Akira were forced to cover their ears.

Satanachia was quick to take advantage of it, charging toward Akira and swinging his blade to cleave him in two - _“Ose!”_ \- only to be met by a humanoid leopard with a billowing green cape, Ose having been summoned by Akira. He held his two blades up and guarded against Satanachia’s cleave, tangling up the Shadow’s blade in his, taking him off guard. Enough so that Ken charged forward, plunging his spear right into Satanachia’s gut, the Shadow letting out a howl of pain as he did so.

The howls of pain continued as Morgana and Koromaru followed up as well. Koromaru leapt up in a single leap, plunging his knife straight into Satanachia’s neck as Morgana leaped alongside him, slashing his scimitar across the Shadow’s back and leaving a nasty wound. Satanachia screamed his awful scream once more, dark energy bursting forth from him and knocking the four Persona-users back again. He got ready to follow up with his blade; but they had been expecting it this time as they all shouted out,

_“Zorro!”_

_“Kala-Nemi!”_

_“Arsene!”_

Koromaru howled alongside them, Cerberus appearing and Satanachia was surrounded on all sides by Personas. All the Personas rose up their tools and a storm of magic came crashing down on the Shadow, a twister of cutting wind tearing open many a wound on his body, only being worsened by flame, holy, and curse magic. The pain was so much - too much - and when it all finally ended, Satanachia stood perfectly still… And collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud, face first.

Ken breathed heavily, looking at Satanachia’s fallen form, then to Akira, then back to Satanachia. “Did… Did we do it?”

“I think it’s…” Morgana gasped for air, Koromaru panting heavily next to him. “It’s finally ov-”

Satanachia’s hand rose back up and he clenched it, smashing a fist to the ground as he slowly pushed himself back up, laughing ever more. He could barely stand on his own two legs, as he propped himself up using his massive blade as a cane. He still laughed and laughed though.

“If I can’t defeat you… Then I’ll just drag you down with me!”

A giant ray exposed itself on the mothership above, rapidly charging with energy as it aimed straight down at the top of the tower where they all were. Satanachia just kept laughing, his will to live completely gone. “That thing has enough power to level this whole damn tower! You won’t be able to run fast enough!”

Akira tried to go over all the options in his head, trying to desperately figure out a plan to get them out of this.

Futaba watched in horror as all this went down, she thought she was close to destroying the mothership, but it was using its last hurrah to utterly destroy two of her best friends and two of her best pets! She had to do anything; something! She couldn’t lose them, Ken or Akira. They were counting on her; all her friends were!

She still had so much to tell them; she wanted to let Akira know how much stronger she had gotten thanks to him, how much he helped her, how much she wanted to prove that herself… And how she felt about him. A resolve like no other rose up in Futaba, her eyes flaming with determination as she gritted her teeth and a single name came shouting up to her lips so naturally;

_“Prometheus!”_

A glowing light filled the sky, everyone watching in awe as Necronomicon transformed around Futaba. The UFO turned into a mysterious glowing ball, alight with red flame, rainbow-colored lines coursing around it. This was the form of Futaba’s strongest resolve, her true power; her Ultimate Persona, Prometheus. She sat inside, a smirk on her face as she focused all her power on one last strike.

A gigantic crimson laser blasted from Prometheus and smashed into the alien mothership. For but a moment, nothing seemed to happen; that was until the laser emerged from the other side, a gargantuan hole burned through the entire length. The mothership powered down, the entire ship exploding along its hull, pieces raining down to the neon city below. Futaba let herself have a little moment of victory before she quickly realized she was extremely tired, Prometheus beginning a slow descent to the closest surface it could find.

Satanachia stared up in horror at this sight, his plans to “drag you down with me” literally going up in smoke. He began sobbing, falling to his knees. The darkness recoiled back from him and soon Satanachia was no more, just the sad form of Hayato Ito left behind.

Akira and Ken were about walk over to him, but their attention was pulled away as they noticed Prometheus wobbling through the air. It managed to land safely on the roof in front of her and dissipated in a puff of blue flame. Futaba stepped out, just as wobbly as Prometheus had been.

“Maaaaan, summoning your Ultimate Persona…” Futaba slurred, looking as if she was about to fall over. “Suuuure takes it right outtaaa ya huh?”

She then proceeded to fall over, Akira catching her in his arms. He held her up, looking her over as Ken rushed over with concern. “Is she okay?”

Akira nodded as he replied. “She’s fine, just tired.”

His attention was pulled back down, Futaba weakly pulling on his coat’s lapels as she mumbled one last thing “Hey Akira… Was I cool?”

Akira smirked. “Extremely.”

Futaba giggled as she buried her head into his chest, muttering one last thing before she passed out. “...Rad.”

Hayato Ito bawled his eyes out, curled up in a heap in the middle of his once-throne-room. He looked up again as he heard footsteps and before him stood Akira (holding an unconscious Futaba), Ken, Morgana, and Koromaru, glaring him down. Something caught Morgana’s eye though; the usual Shadow gold eyes you’d see on a person’s shadow weren’t like usual, in fact they were swirling with brown… Like somehow part of Ito’s real conscious self was blended in there.

Morgana didn’t want to really consider these implications and he didn’t have to as Ito cried to them once more. “Please just kill me… I can’t stand being alive anymore.”

“We won’t kill you!” Morgana spat back. “What I need you to tell me is how your Palace even exists!”

“I-I-I,” Hayato stammered, grabbing at his head as he remembered. “It was that man…”

“...Man?”

“The spindly man with the red glasses…” Hayato blubbered. “He said I could have a world all to my own, where I wouldn’t be so pathetic and weak anymore. He just said I needed to do what he said… It was that seed he needed.”

“Wait, what are you talking about, a seed?” Morgana said, more confused than ever.

“The Seed of Despair… He came and harvested it and said I did a good job and that I could keep living in this world...

“But now everything hurts… It hurts so much… I hate this,” Ito sobbed, his face a mess. “Please… Please help me.”

Morgana sighed, now with even more questions than before. “Your Treasure, give it to us.”

Ito held out his blade, staring at it as he stammered. “M-my Treasure?”

“If you give it to us,” Morgana explained, “it will trigger a change of heart in you. You’ll probably become a much happier person then you are now.”

Hayato held the blade out and handed it over to Morgana, the group looking to him with sympathy as he got back up and stumbled to his throne, sitting in it one final time. The world of the Palace began shaking and falling apart, that being the one consistent they could count on at least.

“Let’s go everyone!” Akira shouted out, leading the sprint as he carried Futaba, leaving Ito’s Shadow behind them.

* * *

 “Shit shit shit!” Ryuji cursed as he blasted away with his shotgun. “Why won’t this fucking thing die?!”

The gigantic sharkman Shadow had marched its way, basically destroying all the tanks for them. Unfortunately they were now saddled with this massive monster of a Shadow slowly approaching them, firing shot after shot with no effect as they were backed up to the tower

“Just lie down and die already!” Yukari screamed, losing another handful of arrows at the creature. “AAAAARGH!”

They were joined by those in the tower running out behind them, Makoto looking at them with a start. “You’re all here - wait, is Futaba okay?”

Akira nodded, before looking at the massive Shadow as the Palace shaked violently around them. “We don’t have time to fight this thing, we need to get out of here now.”

“Well, do you got any brilliant ideas bro?!” Ryuji shouted back at him. “I’m open to sugges-”

As he said that, a massive piece of the mothership came crashing down and completely crushed the Shadow underneath it. They all stared dumbfounded before Ryuji just shrugged. “Aight, that works.”

The Palace shaked violently once more and they all began sprinting. Akira looked to Morgana and shouted. “Morgana, can you still do it?”

“It’s been a while but it’s our only shot!” Morgana shouted back.

Morgana leaped ahead in the air of everyone and with a puff of smoke, he transformed into a mini-bus! Everyone piled in tight, Yukari wanting to desperately ask more questions after seeing a mascot cat turn into a bus but now wasn’t the time. Akira grabbed the wheel and jammed down the gas pedal, the Phantom Thieves and friends peeling on out as this video game city of neon fell around them.

As all this occurred, unbeknownst to anyone else, another person had been in the Palace the entire time, watching the Phantom Thieves with a very curious intent. They were a very interesting group after all, what with all they had achieved and the bonds they had formed. A small smile formed on the woman’s face, pleased with what she had seen, not even caring the skyscraper she sat on was falling underneath her.

Her golden eyes turned to the massive tome she held in her blue gloved hands, tucking it under her arm as she brushed the dust off her similarly velvet blue outfit. She adjusted the hat atop her head of short platinum blonde hair, her golden eyes overlooking the falling city once more. She smiled as she saw they had gotten out safely, as she walked with perfect balance along the toppling skyscraper.

“So, he is the new wielder of the Wild Card… How interesting,” The woman in velvet blue mused aloud to herself. “The power to change humanity’s heart… Perhaps they’ve been the ones I’ve been seeking this entire time.”

She giggled to herself, seemingly uncaring as the world literally fell apart around her. A blue circle appeared underneath her feet and she blinked out of existence, the world of the Palace soon following after, a song the woman sang as she disappeared, the last words to ever grace this world.

_“♪Veeelvet, oh velvet… My maaaster has a laaarge nose…♪”_

* * *

Dusk had fallen over Akihabara, and it was at this time of twilight, that the Phantom Thieves of Hearts emerged from nowhere onto the streets, having just barely escaped the collapse of the Palace.

“Hooooly shiiiit,” Ryuji gasped. “What a friggin’ day that was.”

“I feel like I’m gonna diiiie,” Ann cried out, wobbling back and forth. “Why did the Palace fall apart?”

“Because we got the Treasure,” Akira answered, still holdng the sleeping Futaba.

Everyone who hadn’t been present during looked at him with surprise. Makoto was the first to address this oddity among them. “Wait, that isn’t how it works though…”

“I know! I’m as confused as all of you,” Morgana grumbled, all of them looking down at the cat. “We still have to figure everything out, but hey, at least we took care of that quickly.”

“Oh, so what did the Treasure turn into Morgana?” Akira asked the cat.

“Huh, what do you mean ‘what did the Treasure turn into’?” Yukari spoke up again, the only one in a ridiculous outfit now with her Pink Argus getup. “Wait first; how did Morgana turn into a bus?!”

“Morgana can turn into a bus,” Akira answered. “That’s basically the whole explanation.”

“Oh, uh, okay.”

“I believe I can explain the other to you,” Yusuke stepped forward with a flourish as he spoke. “A Treasure manifests in a Palace as usually some out of this world ridiculous desire - but once we take it back into the real world it transforms into a duplicate of that person’s most valued possession or perhaps something they once desired greatly themselves.”

“So wait, you can actually bring a thing back from the Metaverse and it stays for real?” Yukari sputtered and pinch the bridge of her nose. “This stuff is too crazy for me.”

“That isn’t the only thing you can take outta the Metaverse!” Ann proclaimed. “Check this out!”

Her and Haru pulled out the sacks they used to rob the Fancy Folk earlier and they were still filled with cash. Yukari poked her head in and guffawed. “There’s like 55,000 yen in here! This is ridiculous!”

Ryuji in the meanwhile leaned down to pick up the Treasure under Morgana’s feet. It was a box of some kind and he looked it over with some confusion. “Man, it’s some old ass video game. Check it Akira.”

Akira looked at the box as Ryuji faced it toward him; it was a copy of the very first Endless Dragon game. For such an old game, the box looked like it was in mint condition, brand new even. It might be worth something… But Akira wasn’t super sure, this was more Futaba’s area of expertise and she was currently unconscious in his arms.

“Just slip it into my bag, Futaba will probably be able to figure it out. Whenever she wake ups.”

Ryuji did so as Ken finally spoke up as he pulled his phone out. “Have you guys checked your phones yet? Because I have a ton of missed calls… From Chie and Akihiko.”

* * *

  _Several hours earlier..._

 

“Hiii-yah!” 

The apartment door gave way to Chie’s mighty foot, a smug grin on her face as she turned back to face Akihiko. He looked back at her with bafflement.

“Chie, you can’t just go kicking in doors.”

“But we had a warrant! And he wasn’t answering!”

“Look Chie I know you just really wanted to kick a door in-”

“Is that so wrong Akihiko? That the one thing I really feel missing from my career in law enforcement is this disappointing lack of getting to kick in doors? Let me live my dream.”

It was past lunchtime and Chie Satonaka and Akihiko Sanada believe they had finally found the right Hayato Ito. It was dingy little apartment building in some back alley of Akihabara, and it seemed likely, considering what clues they had. Chie stepped into the apartment and immediately plugged her nose, coughing as she stepped in. “Agh, it reeks in here.”

Why it reeked was obvious; there was piles of garbage and filth stacked everywhere in this cramped little apartment, a pretty clear telltale sign of someone who was probably a shut-in and never left. It was also really dark, only some small lights giving some form of illumination. Akihiko reached a hand in, trying to find a light switch.

“Ah, there it is,” Akihiko sighed, flipping the switch on.

Light filled the room, and Chie let out a sigh of relief. “Well hey now it’s not so dark, let’s lo-”

Both Akihiko and Chie were stunned into silence as they saw the bed on the other side room finally, or well more specifically what was on it and around it. That being a thin, emancipated man, his black hair long and stringy. Over his cranium was some strange helmet hooked to a stranger blinking machine, the rest of him hooked up to life support. He seemed to be completely unconscious and unpresent.

Of course, that man was no other then Hayato Ito.

* * *

The Phantom Thieves and friends - with the exception of Futaba who was still sleeping away - found themselves back where their day begun; Kitanomaru Park, crowded around a picnic table. A cool night breeze blew past them, the group illuminated by a soft glow from the center of the table. That illumination was Ken’s phone as they all listened intently as Chie and Akihiko explained the events of the day.

“So yeah, we found Hayato Ito looking almost like a skeleton, but still alive,” Chie explained, “and he was hooked up to that weird machine.”

“A weird machine…” Morgana muttered, looking very troubled.

“We brought some techs in from the Shadow Operatives and found out if we tried to disconnect him from it, he’d likely go into shock and die,” Akihiko continued, “but right the time you guys apparently destroyed his Palace that machine broke down and he woke up. He muttered ‘thank you’ before drifting off again. We had to rush him off, but unfortunately he’s in a coma now, probably due to the horrible malnutrition.”

“He’s alive though right?” Akira asked.

“Yeah, he’s under our care now and we’re hoping he’ll wake up soon so we can ask him more questions.”

Chie spoke up once more. “We tried asking his neighbors and landlord, but they knew nothing. Just assumed he was a quiet guy and his landlord said he was paying up every month so…”

“A weird machine…” Morgana muttered, still focused on that.

“Anyway, thank you guys for all you did today,” Akihiko said. “We’ll cover the investigation from here on okay?”

A somewhat hesitant wave of affirmation came from the Phantom Thieves, but they agreed and said their goodbyes to Chie and Akihiko. Everyone got up, Akira gently picking Futaba up once more.

“Man, what the hell’s going on?” Ryuji mumbled. “Everything feels more confusing.”

“We should probably entrust the rest to the Shadow Operatives,” Makoto replied hesitantly. “I mean, they are experts on this kind of thing.”

“Yeah! Don’t worry, okay guys?” Yukari spoke up. “I know my friends can figure this out. You guys should just enjoy your summer vacation now all right?”

The Phantom Thieves seemed a bit hesitant on that, Morgana especially. They shook it off though as they began saying their goodbyes. Ken went up to Akira and Futaba, looking at the sleeping girl in Akira’s arms with concern.

Akira looked at him with a smile. “Don’t worry, she gets like this sometimes when she drains her batteries. I’ll get her back home and in bed, and I’m sure by tomorrow she’ll be her usual energetic self again.”

Ken nodded with a sad smile as he replied. “... Alright. Take good care of her. I’ll see you later.”

All the others had set off to catch their trains, leaving just Yukari, Akira, Futaba, and Morgana. The three from Leblanc had been offered a car ride with Saikawa since transferring an  unconscious girl by train was a bit of a difficult task. Yukari looked over to Akira and Futaba with a grin.

“She’s tough, way more then you’d give her credit for from how she looks,” Yukari said. “I’m really impressed with her.”

“She’s become so strong since last year,” Akira replied, a warm smile on his face. “I’m really proud of how far she’s come along.”

Morgana kept pacing back and forth on the picnic table muttering under his breath until the familiar black sedan pulled up once more, the cat leaping back into Akira’s bag as they all got in.

* * *

“That… That can’t be right,” Mitsuru muttered, staring out her office’s window as Chie and Akihiko explained the events of the day to her. “...There can’t be any more of them.”

Akihiko grimaced but confirmed her fears. “That machine was being powered by Plumes of Dusk. A ton of them.”

“To think you could use Plumes of Dusk to do something like that…” Mitsuru sighed, stressed as ever. “To force open a new pocket of the Metaverse.”

“Our tech guys have been looking over the machine,” Akihiko continued, “and the news isn’t great there either. It looks based off of old Ergo Research documents, combined with research into the cognitive psciences by... Wakaba Isshiki”

“Huh?” Chie spoke up. “Who’s Wakaba Isshiki?”

Akihiko opened his mouth, only for Mitsuru to answer first. “She’s Futaba Sakura’s mother… And she was also a very dear friend of mine long ago. Back when I was trying to get all of this started, she was one of the only people who’d actually listen to me in regards to all this business. She respected me and saw me as an equal instead of as a child like all the rest did. Her interest into the human mind and the nature of what it could really do was something that could have greatly benefitted us.

“She was killed by Shido and her research stolen by him though,” Mitsuru bemoaned. “He didn’t want any loose ends stopping him from using the Metaverse for his own nefarious deeds after all.”

“Wait… Does Futaba know you knew her mom?” Chie asked, surprised at the revelation.

“I didn’t wish to bring it up to her, to bring up painful memories,” said Mitsuru. “The poor girl’s been through enough.”

A silence came over the three, but Akihiko broke it as he spoke once more. “Anyway, the tech guys will be going over that machine with a fine-tooth comb and it will be some time before we can get any answers out of Hayato Ito. We should be good to help Aigis, Naoto, and Fuuka with the case they’ve been working on.”

Mitsuru nodded as she turned her focus to that. “Yes, and that should be our top priority now.

“We have to find those missing children.”

* * *

“Thank you very much for the ride Saikawa-san,” Akira said, bowing his head politely as he stepped out of the car with Futaba in his arms, now in front of Leblanc.

“It is no problem Kurusu-sama,” Saikawa replied, smiling out at him. “Do tell us when Sakura-sama is feeling better, hmm?”

“Yeah, tell her to call me up once she wakes up okay?” Yukari spoke up, leaning over Saikawa from the passenger’s seat. “I’d like to spend more time with her! Oh, and bye Morgana!”

“Weird machine…” Morgana kept mumbling, not even acknowledging Yukari’s farewell. He had been like this entire car ride and refused to snap out of it.

Akira just gave her a shrug as Yukari sighed, bidding them farewell as the black sedan pulled away. He turned to Leblanc’s entrance, pushing it open, the familiar bell sounding their return like it always did. Sojiro looked over to him with a smirk, the cafe empty this close to closing. “Hey, you’re finall-

“What happened?!” Sojiro shouted, rushing over as he saw Futaba in his arms.

“She’s fine, just used up all her energy for the day,” Akira replied, a sympathetic smile on his face.

“Damn, girl’s gonna give me a heart attack one of these days,” Sojiro sighed. “Put her down in the booth for now, I’ll carry her back home and put her in bed soon.”

Akira did so, gently putting the sleeping girl down into one of the cafe’s booths. He then turned around to Sojiro with a somewhat guilty look before speaking up once more. “Sojiro, there’s something I should tell you.”

With that, the two sat down, Akira telling Sojiro the whole truth that had happened over these past few days; about the Shadow Operatives, about the Palace, and about the Phantom Thieves getting back together. As Akira finally finished, he looked with worry at Sojiro with a look of worry, the middle-age man having not said a word while he listened intently to the whole story.

“Goddamnit kid,” Sojiro sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I told your parents you’d be fine and that I was fine with you staying with me for summer vacation; I’d keep an eye on you and keep you out of trouble.”

He sighed again but he smirked at Akira. “I should have known you’d just go looking for it again. You kids can’t just stay put and enjoy a normal summer vacation can you? Trying to help people is just in your natures.

“I won’t tell you to stop, since I know you wouldn’t; just be careful okay?” Sojiro said. “After everything you kids dealt with as the Phantom Thieves last year though, something like this shouldn’t be anything.”

Akira smiled at him, glad Sojiro at least remembered everything that happened - most people Akira had formed such a close bond with had - and he thanked the older man. “Thank you for understanding Sojiro.”

“Yeah yeah,” Sojiro said, but pondered again. “But that Amada kid has a Persona? As well as that actress Futaba’s so infatuated with? And they’re both involved with that Shadow Operatives group…

“I remember hearing rumors way back when, when I was still working with the government, but I always shrugged them off as just weird conspiracy theories; to think they’re actually real,” Sojiro mumbled. “From how you put it though, they sound like good people at least. I’m glad you kids have some kinda backup for once.”

“Me too,” Akira said. “I never thought we’d meet other Persona users… But I’m really glad we did.”

Sojiro nodded, deep in thought before he looked up to Akira with one more question. “So, there’s one last important thing I wanted to ask you kid…”

“What is it Sojiro?” Akira asked, surprised with the sudden seriousness that lined the middle-aged man’s face.

“Futaba and that Amada… They aren’t dating are they?”

Akira lost it, almost doubling over with laughter after he asked that. He was expecting something far more serious than that to be asked. Sojiro stared at him with tired frustration until Akira finally could contain himself and replied to him. “Oh gosh, I wasn’t expecting you to ask that Sojiro, I’m so sorry. Don’t worry, I asked Futaba the same thing and she says they aren’t. They’re just friends.”

“Thank god,” Sojiro let out a sigh of relief, looking over to the sleeping girl. “... She’s grown up so much this past year. To think she was locked up in her room back last year and refused to come out and talk to anybody except me, and now she’s going to school and is on the student council. I can barely handle how fast she’s been changing as it is, if she were to suddenly get a boyfriend; hoo boy, I don’t think this old heart of mine could take it.”

Akira and Sojiro smirked at one another as they got back up. Sojiro went over to Futaba and picked her up with a groan, looking over to Akira one last time. “Time for me to get this girl to bed. You should get some sleep too, alright? You look exhausted.”

Akira nodded, replying to the man as he headed out the door. “Same to you Sojiro”

The bell rang once again as Sojiro exited, Akira locking the door behind him. He sighed and made his way up to the attic, seeing what he had expected to see up there; Morgana still pacing in a circle, constantly mumbling “weird machine…” over and over again.

“Morgana,” Akira caught the cat’s attention. “We need to talk about what happened.”

“We do,” Morgana finally said something else, looking over to the frizzy-haired young man. “We need to talk about how someone somehow made a machine that forced open a new pocket of the Metaverse.”

Akira sighed, pulling down his eyelids as he tried to work all this through. “We do; how could something like that even be possible?”

“I don’t know!” Morgana exclaimed, filled with fear. “Whoever made it would had to have an extremely deep understanding of how all this worked and some serious magical tech.”

“... I think our only option is to leave it to the Shadow Operatives for now,” Akira sighed as he laid himself down into bed, “but the Phantom Thieves aren’t disbanding again yet. This involves us, whether the Shadow Operatives like it or not, and we’re gonna get to the bottom of it.”

“Heck yeah it does!” Morgana exclaimed, leaping onto the foot of Akira’s bed. “But yeah, we should play it cool for the time being.”

Morgana let out a massive yawn. “...And get some sleep, I’m so tired…”

With that, the two put their heads down, letting the gentle embrace of sleep take them…

* * *

 =ERROR: PALACE NOT FOUND=

 

The old flip phone screen displayed the error, the man looking down at it with his golden eyes, the glow of the screen glinting off his red sunglasses, a smirk on his face. He slipped it back into his suit pocket with an amused sigh, pulling down the brim of his bowler hat as he looked toward the old dingy apartment building in the distance, police tape covering the door to Hayato Ito’s apartment forbidding anyone from entering.

To think they had actually found out about him; the man was impressed. He didn’t feel too off put about it, he had already gotten everything he had needed from that shut-in. Sure, they might have some clue now, a hint of something deeper going on… That just made things far more exciting though.

The man chuckled to himself, turning away from the apartment building and walking off into the night. He was far too along to fail now, nothing would stop him from achieving his goals, not even them.

 

The end of the world would soon be here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, what a chapter that was. Props for reading through all of it, you absolute madman. I love ya! Anyway I don't got much to say except the story's starting to ramp up ;)
> 
> Next chapter will definitely be a lot chiller though, gotta give these kids a break after all, and I enjoy writing the Phantom Thieves getting to just be normal sometimes. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and please leave a comment! I love reading them and responding to them. I tried to go over this whole chapter as well as I could so I really hope I didn't miss any horrible grammatical errors, but I'm sure I'll end up nothing some later and editing it like I have the previous chapters as I go back and notice dumb little errors.
> 
> Time for me to take a little break though! Hopefully I'll get started on the next chapter soon and it will be way less of a wait then this one ahahah. See ya next time!


	4. Our Way of Life Goes On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After successfully taking out Hayato Ito's Palace, the Phantom Thieves try their best to enjoy their normal summer vacations... But everything that happened continues to bother them, all of them desperate for answers about how someone forced open a new pocket of the Metaverse. The Shadows Operatives are just as curious, but a much more important case that very well may be intertwined within this one has caught their attention.
> 
> Meanwhile, after many years, a strange girl sees a room of velvet blue once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAGH, It's been so long since I last posted a chapter god. I've been so busy with stuff. I'm hoping I'll be more free once summer's here and I have less things to worry about, I also let this chapter completely get away from me with how much stuff I wanted to introduce this time around ahaha. No other chapter will probably be this outta hand again, but boy this one is a long one. I'll probably still be a bit busy for a while, but hopefully it won't be as long a wait for the next chapter.
> 
> This is probably gonna be the FLUFFIEST chapter though, I just wanted to write some slice of life stuff for the Phantom Thieves and their summer vacation. There's also romance, some BIG stuff, which made me realize I should change the tags a bit. It's a bit of an odd pairing though, I'll admit, but it's a set of P3 and P4 characters who never really got any alone time together, and I always thought they'd click really well together??? Like they have personalities that would go well together, and also I just want Atlus to let cute girls smooch one another. So hopefully it isn't too unbelievable and no one gets horribly mad at me. I had fun writing it because I thought it was very cute. There's also some other stuff because I'm TRASH.
> 
> But anyway, some FUN TRIVIA that I can share now though that isn't a spoiler: this chapter's title "Our Way of Life Goes On" is a combination of the names of two tracks from the Persona OSTs; "A Way of Life" from Persona 3 Portable and "Life Goes On" from Persona 5, since they're sorta the main focus of this fic so I felt yeah, that's a good title for the Slice-of-Life chapter. I'll probably stick with that name for any other Slice of Life chapters as well and number them, or maybe I'll come up with more wacky combinations.
> 
> Anyway, I hope people are still able to read through this whole chapter and that this isn't a HORRIBLE DISASTER. I've probably got some fatigue from going for so long so it might show up in this a bit, but hopefully the story's still enjoyable. I'll see you again at the notes at the bottom aaaaa

“Play with us! Play with us!”

“Let’s have fun! Let’s have fun!”

A parade of Shadows in colorful garb, dressed like performers and clowns, sang and dance as they paraded the cobbled streets underneath a bright crescent moon in the menacing dark red sky above. The Shadows were having the time of their lives though, flipping around and dancing as they played their instruments and threw confetti around themselves. Fireworks sounded off their glorious parade, exploding with beautiful colors around the dark, twisted castle that towered in the center of this bizarre amusement park, filled with wondrous rides and attractions.

The man let out a sigh as he watched the Shadows parade past him once more, the fireworks glinting off the red-tinted lenses of his sunglasses, his long wavy ponytail blowing idly around him. It was certainly an interesting study, but he had grown quite sick of these Shadows, of how they cheered and laughed. It was a side effect of what they had been born from: those children. He pulled out his rather old phone and flipped it open; the faster he concluded his business here the better.

This place and Ito had certainly been interesting studies, but the seeds had grown so slow. Unfortunately, their manner of unique despair was one he had needed, so he had to put up with it since their desires weren’t distorted enough to create a Palace normally. He had already waited this many years, but his patience as he drew ever closer had started to wear thin; especially with the Shadow Operatives now catching scent of him. The seeds grew far more effectively under a Palace hosted naturally by an actual human, not from the ones drawn out by a machine. Shido and his resources had long been a useful tool to further this research, but that was no longer an avenue he had available unfortunately.

His phone beeped and he looked down with a smirk; it would just be a few more days and the seed would be ready for harvest. He could leave this godforsaken Palace now for the time being; he could barely stand hearing that cheery parade anymore. He clicked through his phone, but glanced to the sky with a grin before he made his escape. The way the moon was in this Palace was quite familiar, how it glowed so brightly in the sky; oh how it reminded him of that 25th hour from so long ago.

He laughed; it wouldn’t be too long now. Everything would come to fruition soon. With that he pressed down on the phone and disappeared in an instant, like he had never been there to begin with.

* * *

Several days after taking care of Hayato Ito’s Palace, it was yet another beautiful summer morning in Tokyo, promising that the rest of the day would be as nice. It was on this summer morning though that Yukari Takeba found herself in Yongen-Jaya at the cafe known as Leblanc, enjoying a promising cup of coffee. She raised it to her lips, savoring the rich blend with a pleasant sigh. It was then she promptly chugged the whole thing down because of how friggin’ good it was. She had had nothing but terrible convenience store, vending machine, or cheap brand pre-packaged stuff for so long to just get a caffeine boost; to have coffee this excellent, this well-made; she could barely contain herself.

“This coffee is incredible, absolutely incredible,” Yukari sang, Ken and Futaba sitting across from her in the booth. “Sojiro-san! I need another refill!”

Ken sighed as he sipped at his own coffee. “You’re not gonna be able to enjoy it if you keep just chugging it down like that. You should really learn to savor it more, that’s how you enjoy this kind of coffee.”

“I’m just glad you like it so much!” Futaba exclaimed before she drank her cocoa. “I told you Sojiro’s the best at this!”

“Everybody enjoys coffee at their own pace really,’ Sojiro smirked as he walked over with a nearly empty pot of coffee.  “I’m happy as long you keep giving me these rave reviews.”

“Really, I’m glad to finally meet you Takeba. Futaba’s been talking about you nonstop these past few-”

Futaba nearly choked on her cocoa as she waved her arms wildly in embarrassment at her guardian. “AAHSHUTUPSOJIRO!”

Yukari laughed before she looked up to middle-aged man. “I’m surprised you get so little business Sojiro-san. I gotta tell some of my friends about this place, they’d absolutely love it.”

“Well, I do always appreciate getting to see some new faces come in,” Sojiro said as he refilled Yukari’s mug with the last bit of the pot. “Anyway, I’ll get a new pot brewing, call me if you all need anything.”

With that he went off back behind the counter and set back to work as Ken leaned over to Futaba. “So, Akira told Sojiro about everything that’s been going on?”

Futaba nodded. “Yeah, don’t worry though, you can trust Sojiro. He helped us a lot back when stuff was getting really bad for us at the Phantom Thieves when Shido was getting on our cases. I mean, he doesn’t super get all of it - I mean who would when we’re shouting all this ridiculous stuff about Personas and Shadows and junk - but he understands it's important.”

Ken sighed, but nodded in agreement. “Well, as long as you and Akira trust him that much, I guess it’s okay.”

Their attention was caught as footsteps came down the stairs at the back of Leblanc, only to stop as they reached the bottom. Akira stood there, with Morgana on his shoulder, the two surprised to see them all here, but glad to regardless.

“Hey, what are you guys doing here?” Akira asked, as he walked up to their table.

“We’re seeing the summer Featherman movie!” Futaba exclaimed. “I just figured we should meet up first, and Takeba-san hadn’t gotten to try out Sojiro’s super good coffee yet, so it made sense to do it here.”

“This is one of the last days I’ve got before the production work into the next Featherman series starts getting really busy,” Yukari said. “I couldn’t not spend it with my dear Futaba-chan though; I mean what kinda mentor would I be?”

“I don’t think you’d really be a good mentor regardless,” Ken muttered, sipping away at his coffee.

He nearly choked on it as Yukari glared at him with an intensity that could probably kill, only to be saved as Morgana peeked his head over with a question. “Hey, where’s Koromaru?”

Ken quickly took the chance to divert before Yukari strangled him. “Oh, I left him at my dorms for today. He’s fortunately got pretty free reign there during summer vacation since everyone else goes home during this time. I couldn’t really take a dog with me to the theater after all.”

“Good point, but you know, it’d be pretty easy to sneak a cat in,” Morgana smirked, jumping onto the table. “Honestly, I’d love to spend today seeing a movie instead. Akira’s going shopping with Ann and Haru so this sounds way funner.”

“Sure Morgana!” Yukari exclaimed. “You can ride around in my purse, alright?”

The cat nodded along, happy to accept the plan. “I bet it will be a comfier ride then I get in Akira’s backpack; really, he keeps so much clutter in there.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Akira teased the cat, pinching him lightly on the ear. “Well, if you’re going with them, just make sure you don’t cause any trouble, okay?”

Morgana stuck his tongue out at the frizzy-haired boy. “Pff, me cause trouble? I’m a perfect little feline angel!”

“Well anyway, I gotta go catch the train to Shibuya, so I’ll see you guys later,” Akira said, as he started heading toward the door. “I hope the movie’s good!”

They waved goodbye to one another as the bell of Leblanc rang, sounding off his departure.

* * *

It had indeed become a beautiful summer's day as it went on. Makoto Niijima had opted to instead stay inside though, comfortably working away at her studies in the living room of her and her sister’s apartment. She had been preoccupied these past few days with the sudden reunion of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts and the strange return of the Metaverse. In fact, it still bothered her and she had talked to Akira at length about it, but they both realized they had no leads to follow and their only option for now was to let the Shadow Operatives take care of things.

She could barely focus on her schoolwork because of that, putting her books down and leaning back against the couch as she sighed and stared at the ceiling, trying to wrack her head for some kind of answer. Nothing would come to her, despite how much she wanted it too, but she was pulled out of her pondering as she heard the apartment’s front door open and turned to the familiar sounding of high heels clacking in with a suited woman with long gray hair.

“Sae!” Makoto exclaimed, sitting back up straight. “I’m surprised to see you home!”

“I wasn’t expecting to see you either Makoto,” Sae smiled at her sister as she saw her. “We’ve been constantly missing each other since you started university, though I suppose it makes sense with you being off for summer vacation.

“Why are you spending it inside though?” Sae remarked as she slipped her heels off and stepped into the living room. “It seems far too nice of a day to spend it inside.”

“I’ve been falling too behind on my schoolwork for my own liking,” Makoto answered, looking to the books on the table. “I mean I still have plenty of summer vacation left, but I’d prefer to get it done sooner than later.

“What are you doing home though?” Makoto asked. “I figured you’d still be busy with the new firm - have things been going well?”

“Very well, I just had some free time finally so I wanted to take care of some things,” Sae answered as she sat down next to her sister. “It has been a rather rough transition from being a prosecutor to being a defense attorney, but I’m very happy with how it’s been going. I feel happy with the direction I’m going now… I think dad would be proud.

“I think he’d be proud of both of us,” Sae nodded to her sister with a smile. “I remember you saying Akira-kun was returning for summer vacation correct? Has he been doing well?”

“He’s doing great, him and Morgana,” Makoto smiled. “It’s been an interesting couple of days since they came back.”

Makoto pulled back into her thoughts as she pondered a question to herself; should she tell her sister about everything that had happened these past few days? She knew Akira had ended up telling Sojiro after they had brought down Hayato Ito’s Palace; it made sense, Sojiro would have likely figured them out eventually anyway, so it was best to come clean with him. Makoto had her worries about telling her sister, but she decided, yes, she would tell her. She felt she could trust her sister.

“Um, Sae, I hope I’m not cutting into your time with this but…” Makoto took in a deep breath to calm herself. “There’s some important I wanted to talk to you about.”

With that, Makoto began telling Sae the whole story of these past few days, much like Akira had Sojiro. It took some time as Makoto went over everything in great detail, wanting to make sure she didn’t miss anything. After a bit, she finally finished, Sae having kept quiet during the whole thing, taking Makoto’s whole tale into consideration.

Makoto looked at her being so quiet with worry, her nerves somewhat getting to her. “...So that’s the whole story. I hope you aren’t upset with me Sae.”

Sae shook her head and smiled at her sister. “Of course I’m not upset Makoto, I understand. It’s just a lot to take in. After everything that happened back during Christmas, I never thought all of this would come back again… I know even though I said you could trust the world to us adults, I know this isn’t something you could leave alone.”

Makoto let out a sigh of relief. “I’m glad you understand. That’s exactly it, it’s just… It feels like our duty.”

“Even though these ‘Shadow Operatives’ are going to take care of things, it still bothers you. I mean, this was you and your friends’ lives for such a long period of time. I can understand you have a sense of duty and obligation to want to see it though. So I know you won’t be leaving it alone regardless… Just promise me you’ll be careful, okay?”

Makoto nodded. “Of course! I’m just really glad you aren’t upset and that you understand Sae.”

“To think _the_ Mitsuru Kijiro is involved in all this...” Sae said, still trying to take it all in. “Though this might be a good career opportunity for you; you should try and make a good impression toward her.”

The pair of sisters laughed at that, Makoto just relieved at her sister understanding. They had gone through some rough times for a long while, but after everything that had happened last year, she was so glad they could be close as sisters again. It felt like their father was smiling down on them.

“Anyway, I wasn’t expecting to be caught up hearing such a long story, but I still have some time left,” Sae said. “Would you like to go out and get lunch together Makoto?”

“That sounds lovely sis,” Makoto nodded. “I think I can put aside my schoolwork again for the time being, there’s still plenty of summer vacation left after all.”

* * *

“Okay, try these on Akira.”

Ann slipped a pair of sunglasses onto Akira’s face, placing them over his regular glasses. This made the result even more ridiculous, the pink heart-shaped pair of sunglasses Ann had just placed on him becoming even more lopsided as a result. Ann could only try her best to hold in her laughter as Akira looked at himself in the little mirror on the sunglasses stand, his face as stoic as ever while he sipped on his smoothie.

He nodded to his reflection. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m totally pulling this off.”

Ann started laughing uncontrollably and Haru giggled away next to her as they beheld Akira, who just continued to calmly stand there. The three of them were currently at an accessory shop in Shibuya at Ann’s behest, having stopped near the front of it to partake in this goofiness of a novelty sunglasses stand. Ann eventually calmed herself, but was still having a serious case of the giggles.

“Okay, just gimme a sec okay guys?’ Ann took a deep breath, trying to get a hold of herself. “I shouldn’t be too long in here.”

Ann headed further within, leaving Akira and Haru with each other’s company as she went to take care of whatever she wanted to pick up. Akira kept sipping away at his smoothie, but he looked over to Haru, realizing this was a good moment to ask her something he had been curious about. He slipped the ridiculous heart-shaped sunglasses off and put them back on the stand as he looked to her.

“Hey Haru, I was wondering if I could ask you something.”

“Hmm? What is it Akira?” Haru replied, looking up to him with curiosity.

“Back when we first met the Shadow Operatives, I noticed how much you were sorta in reverence of Kirijo-san,” Akira said, looking back down to her. “I guess I was just curious if there was any reason to that.”

“Oh!” Haru exclaimed. “There is actually… Though it’s a bit embarrassing to say, but I don’t mind telling you Akira.

“Back when my father passed away… Things were really rough. I of course had all of you and you all tried to help me as much as you could, you especially Akira, but it never felt like there was anyone who could truly understand exactly the same feeling I was going through, that feeling of losing my father and having to deal with everything he left behind with the company. I started looking to successful women then, hoping maybe I could learn something, and that’s when I found out a lot more about Kirijo-sama.

“When she was the same age as I was, her father passed away due to illness and much like I was, she was faced with having to handle her family’s business in the face of it all. The Kirijo Group is so much bigger than Okumura Foods of course, but as I read on about her, everything about her grabbed a hold of me. She actually did it - she was absolutely incredible and so strong, I could barely believe it, but it was all real. She was able to lead the Kirijo Group down a new road and into a new direction, and they became greater than ever.

“She became a role model to me after I found all that out, I wanted to be like her, to be able to be that strong. I.. I never thought I’d actually meet her though. It took me by surprise so much when we met the Shadow Operatives and she stepped out from that door and said she was their leader. She was already so amazing to me, to find out that she was a Persona-user on top of that and the leader of a group that actually deals with Persona and Shadow activity… I.. I was just so taken aback.”

Haru took in a deep breath after having talked for so long and looked to Akira with a smile. “I sincerely hope I get to chance to meet her again, there’s so much I’d like to ask her… I hope that was a good answer to what you were wondering Akira.”

Akira nodded and smiled back to her. “I think that was a very good answer Haru. I’m sure you’ll get to talk to her again. We’ll make sure of it.”

* * *

The day went onward and in a pleasant little dessert cafe in Akihabara, Morgana poked his head out of Yukari’s purse as they ate away at some ice cream.

“I can’t believe that I’ve been missing out on this this whole time!” Morgana exclaimed. “Is Featherman always like that?!”

Futaba looked to the cat. “Heck yeah it is! I’m glad you liked it Morgana!”

“They shined with such a brilliant radiant justice, I couldn’t believe it,” Morgana mulled it over. “And that teamwork coordination!”

Futaba nodded sagely, but continued to talking to the cat with great excitement. “Right?! They’re amazing, and all those cool moves!”

“That teamwork finisher too!” Morgana continued along. “... I think the Phantom Thieves could really use a cool teamwork finish too…”

“You’re totally right Morgana!” Futaba jumped out of her seat and slammed her hands down on the table. “Why _don’t_ we have a cool teamwork finish?!”

Ken and Yukari looked nervously to Futaba as she put on such a ridiculous scene, drawing the attention of the other patrons of the cafe. Ken let out a nervous little laugh, catching Futaba’s attention. “Uh, Futaba, you might wanna calm down before we get kicked out.”

“...Oh. Oh!” Futaba suddenly realized the scene she was causing and quickly sat back down. “Sorry about that.

“We should watch some of the old Featherman together though Morgana! I got all the boxsets so it’d be pretty easy to marathon it tomorrow… You know, for research.”

Morgana nodded along in agreement. “Mmhmm, you know it’d be really useful to see that kind of teamwork coordination to help plan out for the Phantom Thieves. I mean you and me are such figureheads in figuring out the team’s formations, so it makes sense.”

Futaba and Morgana hummed and nodded in agreement at the ridiculous conclusion they had reached. Truly this was the best course of action. Futaba then turned around to Ken.

“You should watch with us too Ken! Oh, bring Koromaru too!”

Ken was caught off guard by the sudden invitation, but replied. “I mean, uh, sure? I guess I’m not really doing much of anything else tomorrow anyway.”

“Good!” Futaba exclaimed, crossing her arms as puffed up. “I should see if anyone else might be interested in joining us too.”

Futaba pulled out her phone but stopped as she suddenly remembered something. “Oh, oh Ken! I said we were gonna look into computer parts here in Akihabara so we could build you a PC! We should do that!”

“... I forgot about that actually,” Ken laughed. “I mean, we don’t have to really worry about it tod-”

Futaba suddenly tugged on Ken’s arm, trying to pull him out of his seat. “No, we should do that! I said we were! C’mon let's gooooo!”

Ken looked to Yukari for some kind of help, but Yukari leaned back in her chair and smirked. “You guys go on ahead, I and Morgana will catch up to you later. I wanna finish my ice cream.”

Ken sighed and let Futaba drag him along, the pair heading out of the dessert cafe as Yukari giggled softly to herself. She spoke her thoughts aloud, catching Morgana’s attention. “I never thought Futaba-chan would be Ken’s type.”

“Ooh, are we gossiping?” Morgana piqued up. “I love to do some gossiping.”

“Heck yeah we are!” Yukari nodded to cat. “I mean, I could tell you some _things_ , though I mean, it’s probably pretty obvious how much Ken is into Futaba.”

Morgana nodded. “It’s so obvious. He’s got it bad.”

“I just remember when Ken first went into middle school and he hit puberty; he stopped being such a little runt and became this handsome pretty boy. All the girls in his school started confessing to him en masse, but I remember talking to him when all of this was happening and him saying how much of a waste of time it all was. He had become such a no-fun-allowed, focused on his studies kinda kid, I couldn’t believe it.

“Then he kept being like that in high school, but he accidentally became friends with Futaba-chan and I don’t think his poor little heart even wants to admit to himself that he has such a huge crush on her. If he stopped being so serious and actually let himself realize that’s what was going on and confessed to her, him and Futaba would probably be actually dating already.”

Morgana snickered along at that. “I mean, you’re probably right… Though Futaba does have a really fierce crush on Akira herself. I’m not sure if that would really go anywhere on Akira’s side though even if he found out; he acts all cool and suave as Joker… But he’s not really the romantic type. Honestly, he’s sorta completely oblivious to it; I’m pretty sure every girl on our team has had a little thing toward him at some point and he’s never noticed.”

“God I knew exactly what that was like; the Mr. Perfect whose only flaw was how incredibly oblivious he was to it,” Yukari sighed, but laughed happily as she reminisced about high school and a certain blue-haired boy. “...I can’t believe it’s been almost eight years since then.”

She let out a happy sigh at all those memories before picking her purse up as she stood up herself. “Anyway, let’s go catch up to those oblivious lovebirds, Morgana.”

* * *

Dusk had fallen over Tokyo and the Kosei High dormitories in particular were quiet and peaceful at this time of twilight. They had been particularly been today since Yusuke Kitagawa had been out and about for most of it; he was one of the only few still staying there after all during summer vacation. The tale pale blue-haired youth quite liked the tranquility of it all though, so it was somewhat of a shame to have it ruined as much as it was as Ryuji Sakamoto invited himself along with him after the two had had lunch together earlier.

“Man, I can’t believe how deserted your dorms are,” Ryuji said, as he looked around the entrance way. “You seriously stay here all by yourself over summer?”

“Yes; it’s not like I have any other option available to me,” Yusuke answered as he made his own way in. “I do have the keys to Madarame’s old abode, but this is far more preferable. The faculty do check on me from time to time, so I’m not completely by my lonesome in the very least.

“Why did you even follow me here in first place, Ryuji?” Yusuke cocked an eyebrow at him. “It’s not like there’s much of interest here.”

Ryuji sighed and scratched the back of his head. “Bored as hell. Everybody else is doing some kinda shit today and I had nothing better to do, so I figured eh, why not?”

“Well, I suppose I can give you the grand tour,” Yusuke pondered. “Though it’s not really all that grand.”

“Well besides that though, you made it sound like you barely got any supervision to worry about here,” Ryuji smirked slyly at him. “Sounds like a good opportunity, if you catch my drift.”

“‘A good opportunity’?” Yusuke said, looking quite perplexed. “What do you mean by that?”

He elbowed Yusuke, nudging him along. “You know, my dude. You should pick up what I’m throwing down here”

“ _What_ do I know? I’m have absolutely no idea what you’re implying Ryuji.”

Ryuji let out an exasperated sigh, realizing he probably assumed too much of this damn nerd. “I mean, you could totally invite some girls over bro! I mean, how oblivious can you get?”

Yusuke’s eyes opened wide at that sudden revelation, his voice abuzz with passion. “You’re right Ryuji! I can’t believe I never considered that before! To think I’d miss something so obvious...”

Ryuji grinned - maybe there was some hope for this guy yet - and patted Yusuke heartily on the shoulder. “Oh hell yeah, finally you get it dude! We should tot-”

“This would be a most opportune time for me to seek out models for my paintings again!” Yusuke cried out in joy as he completely missed the point. “It’s been so long since I last had a subject for my paintings, it would be quite the treat. With so little people around I wouldn’t have to worry about causing a scene.”

Ryuji stared at him with disbelief as he slowly slapped his face into palms, realizing trying to get Yusuke to do anything like this was a struggle he couldn’t win. As he did so, Yusuke continued to mutter along, trying to figure out how he could best go along this course of action Ryuji had set him along.

“I’d still have to find a subject who’d agree to this though… Perhaps I could convince Saikawa-san; to paint the lovely visage of such an angel would be delightful…”

Ryuji looked to him again with some shock as he muttered that. “‘Saikawa-san’? Wait, isn’t she that maid we met? Dude, do you have a thing for maids-”

Before Ryuji could finish his question, the two of them were interrupted as both of their phones buzzed as a new message came to the Phantom Thieves group chat. Futaba had put out an offer saying she was gonna marathon a bunch of Featherman with Morgana tomorrow and asking if anyone else was interested in joining them.

“Like, the old one from the 70s?” Ryuji shrugged. “Not really my style.”

“I thought you were ‘bored as hell’?” Yusuke looked to him with an eyebrow cocked. “This seems like something to do.”

“I’m bored as hell today, but I actually got shit I’m doing tomorrow,” Ryuji shot back. “Me and Akira are hanging out, getting some training in for whenever we get back into the shit again.”

Their phones buzzed again as Akira sent a message saying the same as Ryuji had just said to Yusuke. Yusuke started typing out a message himself, telling Futaba he was actually interested in it.

“I’m not doing much anyhow; besides this seems a good opportunity for me to finally understand why they chose the garish colors they did,” Yusuke said. “I still think how I rearranged Futaba’s figures were so much better than what they’re ‘supposed’ to be. It’s as if they had no sense of color composition.”

“Nah dude, the normal way makes way more sense, it’s your shit that’s fucking weird.”

“Bah, I don’t see you going to art school, you buffoon! I’m far more well versed on these things then you ever could be!”

The two continued to banter back and forth as Yusuke finally began his grand tour of his dormitories, leading Ryuji along.

* * *

The stars twinkled in the clear night sky and a gentle, relaxing summer’s eve breeze blew in through the open windows of Leblanc’s attic. Akira laid back in bed, taking it all in with a smile on his face. Despite all that had happened recently, it was nice to just have calm days like this, to be able to spend time with his friends like he had originally planned to do this summer vacation. Though he couldn’t lie; another part of him was excited to see the Phantom Thieves back together again, to feel that rush of adrenaline as they pulled off a heist. It sate an urge in him like no other.

Morgana loomed over him from the window sill, with a toothy smirk. “What are you smiling about?”

Akira chuckled, looking up to the cat. “It was just a good day. Even with all this Metaverse stuff going on, I’m glad to be able to take breaks like this.

“I heard you’re into Featherman now,” Akira teased. “Didn’t think you’d be such a fan.”

“They have a shining sense of brilliant justice!” Morgana exclaimed. “We could learn a thing or two from them; I’ve already been thinking about how we could have some kind of cool team attack finisher!”

Akira laughed as Morgana went on about it and how much he had liked the Featherman movie. He started to tune it out though, and a part of Akira grew distracted as he thought about what had happened these past few days. A lot had happened, but there was one thing in particular that still ate away at him and bothered him. It was two words in particular though, two words that defined him; Wild Card.

“...Hey Akira, are you okay?” Morgana spoke up, looking to him with worry as he saw how distracted he had become.

“I’m sorry Morgana,” Akira answered, looking to the cat as he snapped him out. “You remember when we met Satonaka-san and Sanada-san when we got pulled into Ito’s Palace that first time? Satonaka-san mentioned then she was surprised to meet _another_ Wild Card when she saw my powers.

“It’s been eating away at me since then; I’ve been wanting to ask the Shadow Operatives about it, but I was never sure how to bring it up again. I want to know just who this person is. I want to ask them so many questions; how’d they get their powers, what was the Velvet Room like for them - if they even went to it, if they’re anything like me or what I went through…”

Akira laughed, trying to shake it off. “I don’t why I’m getting so caught up on it. It’s pretty dumb isn’t it?”

“Nah, I don’t think it’s dumb at all,” Morgana said. “Honestly, it makes perfect sense. You have all of us, but to find out there’s someone else with the same powers as you? Of course you’d wanna find out all about them. It was the same when we found out about Akechi being like you too… But of course we barely got to ask him anything about it before what happened happened… It’s really understandable though, so don’t think it’s dumb.”

“... Thank you Morgana,” Akira grinned at the cat. “I never feel like I say that enough, but I do appreciate you staying by my side all this time. You’ve been there since all this started after all.”

“Psssshaw, we’re partners after all,” Morgana sneered pridefully. “It’s nothing.”

Akira smirked at the cat before he started up to ceiling in the contemplation once more. “My visits to the Velvet Room when they call me in my dreams are always sorta hazy, but at the same time I feel like I can remember them so clearly. The last time I was there, Igor said if I kept going down this path, I would likely meet another of his guests from some time ago - another Wild Card like myself. I hope that’s true.”

“If my master said it, it’s gotta be!” Morgana declared. “So I’m sure if we keep on this case like we were planning to, we’ll meet that other Wild Card in no time; then we can ask them all the questions we want!”

Akira nodded. “Maybe Igor will call me back again tonight and I can ask him again… Though with how cryptic he is I doubt I’ll get any clear answer.”

The frizzy-haired youth and cat discussed a bit more, but eventually Akira changed into his sleepwear and turned off the lights. He settled into bed with Morgana curled up at the foot of it and he laid his head down, hoping for dreams of velvet blue.

* * *

_Nostalgia._

That is what she felt as the tones of rich velvet blue came into sight as she opened her own blue eyes. She had never expected to feel this sensation again as the never-ending elevator ascended higher and higher, the briefest flashes of light passing through the slits of its massive caged doors, going by places it would never stop at; the doors strewn about it that seemed to go seemingly nowhere that were covered with blue sheets; and the soft velvet seat that she now sat in, a large table in front of her with an all-too familiar old man on the other side of it looking at her with bloodshot eyes and an impossibly wide grin from behind his steepled fingers from a cushy blue velvet couch.

“...Welcome to the Velvet Room,” Igor smirked. “It’s so good to make your acquaintance once more.”

As their visitor ran her hand through her blonde hair, she noticed the one unfamiliar thing. Instead of who she was used to seeing stand next to Igor there was someone else; a cute little girl with long beautiful hair, looking to her with large golden eyes and a warm smile.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, dear guest,” the little girl welcomed her brightly. “I’m sorry that I am not your usual attendant… She is indisposed at the moment unfortunately.” - she turned her gaze downward for a moment as she frowned but turned to face their guest once more - “My name is Lavenza.”

“...Lavenza,” their visitor finally muttered as she looked at her own hand, hearing the mechanics whir as she flexed it, their metallic tips reflecting the blue of the room. “That is a very nice name. I am Aigis, it is nice to meet you.”

Lavenza smiled at their guest - Aigis - and curtsied politely. “Aigis is a very nice name as well. I hope we can work well together.”

Aigis didn’t dream, so to feel the sensation of the Velvet Room again was somewhat welcoming. With that sensation came so many memories of when she was first and last here - that endless day of March 31st. She remembered what her and all of her friends had gone through that fateful day and what they had found out; she remembered the blue-haired boy she loved so much and what had become of him, of Minato Arisato. How he sacrificed himself to save the world. As Aigis thought of him, more memories of him came to her; the person she once wanted to always be with and to protect, everything they had gone through together, and their very final moments together…

“...Aigis, are you alright?” Lavenza spoke up, pulling Aigis out of her memories. “...You’re crying.”

The robotic girl hadn’t even realized as she reached up and felt the tears that had welled up in her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. To recall these memories that had happened so long ago… A smile formed on her face as she looked to Lavenza. “Do not worry Lavenza, simply being back in the Velvet Room has brought back many memories to me, both happy and sad.”

Lavenza nodded, looking to her with sympathy. “I understand.”

With that, Aigis turned her focus back to the present and looked to Igor. “Why have I been called back to the Velvet Room?”

Igor chuckled as he always had, and began to explain. “You and your friends head down a ruinous path, a threat you once thought gone returning as you least expect it. It will surely be your downfall, of both you and this world; but there is still hope.”

Igor held up a hand and a tarot card appeared within it - one of the Fool Arcana. “On this path you will meet another quite like yourself; one with the power of the Wild Card. Your fates even now become intertwined and soon you will likely meet. If you were to join forces and make a bond with one another…”

Igor chuckled with amusement. “Why the results could be truly extraordinary. Even I am excited at such a prospect, imagining the two of you fighting side by side.”

As Igor said she would meet another Wild Card like herself, her mind turned to the possibilities; besides Minato who she had inherited her power from, the only other Wild Card she had met was Yu Narukami, but the way Igor had phrased it made it sound like it was someone new, that she had never met. Fortunately for Aigis, Lavenza had noticed her puzzlement and began to explain.

“He is a notorious trickster,” Lavenza beamed. “An honorable thief who steals the hearts of those who have committed grave injustices upon your world… Though he has stolen more hearts than he knows.”

A deep blush overcame Lavenza as she said that last part showing her deep embarrassment; she took a deep breath and calmed herself as she continued. “He has formed a merry band with those who share in his aesthetics that have joined him in this cause; the power of their bond rivals even that of your own group. Even now, both of your bonds become tangled within one anothers as fate draws the two of you closer together.”

“The strengths of heart the two of you share,” Igor said. “They are impressive and hold potential beyond your own beliefs. The things you could achieve…

“As always, we will lend you our aid as another journey begins and you seek for an answer once more. You were always quite the interesting guest after all.”

Igor laughed his deep nasally laugh and Aigis’s body started to feel heavy. Her eyes slowly closed, her consciousness drifting away from her as Lavenza came to her side and gingerly held the robotic girl’s hand.

_“Return peacefully to the waking world, Wild Card.”_

* * *

Aigis’s blue eyes fluttered open, the pale morning light of a new day flooding into her sparse apartment and around her recharging and maintenance pod. After her unexpected visit to the Velvet Room and the memories that came along with it, a sadness welled up in her. It accentuated the loneliness she felt further as she looked at the empty pod next to hers; it was her sister’s, Labrys. She had been away for some time on business for the Shadow Operatives overseas and Aigis missed seeing her everyday. It was an important mission though, and Aigis knew all too well her sister was needed for it.

She stepped out of her pod with sad sigh as she checked over herself, looking to her mechanical body. Usually she would do this subconsciously as she was in sleep mode and sorted her memories of the day, but her visit to the Velvet Room had somewhat confused her senses. Everything seemed to be fine though, as she twirled her limbs around with ease. She decided to keep distracting herself from her feelings of loneliness and thought back to what things of import she had heard in the Velvet Room as she set about on her morning routine.

First, she recalled that mysterious little girl she had met: Lavenza. She seemed very caring and kind, a far cry from the eccentricities of Elizabeth, her former attendant. Aigis remembered when she had last seen Elizabeth and how peculiar it had been; it had been inside the TV world in Inaba during the P-1 Grand Prix. She had torn through the tournament despite not even being an entrant - in fact she was quite disappointed she hadn’t been considered as one. Aigis remembered the rather difficult fight against her that Elizabeth insisted they have, and then the one she had with Yu Narukami, and how Elizabeth was overwhelmed by the power of the bond him and his friends shared. It had been a rather curious turn of events, but Aigis cared for Elizabeth all the same. To find out she was currently “indisposed” after all these years though… Aigis was somewhat concerned, but perhaps her presence during the P-1 Grand Prix all those years ago had something to do with her absence from the Velvet Room all this time later.

Aigis turned onto her next train of thought as she opened her closet full of identical sets of clothes and started to get dressed; this other Wild Card, this “honorable thief”. Her gaze turned to the one set of clothes that stuck out from all the others - a Shujin Academy uniform. Mitsuru-san had asked her to attend the school undercover back in the spring; she wanted her to observe two apparent members of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, an Ann Takamaki and a Ryuji Sakamoto. Aigis had agreed to do so, Mitsuru easily placing her into the school as a third-year transfer student. In the months that followed, Aigis had watched them as the school semester went on and never really noticed anything of note, they seemed like regular students, though Ryuji Sakamoto was especially vulgar and had an incredible streak of dumb luck to notice Aigis whenever she was observing him. What Lavenza had told her seemed to be too much of a coincidence though, that this “honorable thief” stole hearts of corrupt individuals; it seemed far too likely she was referring to the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, and their motto of “Take your Heart” that was on all of their calling cards. If there was one thing she was certain of though, it was that she could rule out Ryuji Sakamoto; he was to vulgar to be an “honorable thief” and no where clever enough to be a “notorious trickster”. He likely knew whoever it was though, the likely leader of the Phantom Thieves.

Summer vacation had come though, so Aigis was out of her job of observation and had instead joined Fuuka Yamagishi and Naoto Shirogane on a very important case they were working on, but now she hoped to pursue what she had learned in the Velvet Room… But she didn’t really have anything to go off but the cryptic hints of its denizens. She sighed as she got dressed, pulling on a pair of black dress pants, and then tightening a sharp red tie around her collar which contrasted well with her white body. Finally, she pulled out a long black coat and wrapped it around herself; her ensemble camouflaged her robotic body extremely well and no one would usually think otherwise of her. Though some people would probably give her some odd glances for bundling up so thickly during the summer days, that was better than it being because of her mechanical bits.

Finally to conclude her morning routine, Aigis turned on the systems for the phone she had integrated into her long ago to see if she had received any messages. A smile came to her face as she saw had in fact received one from Labrys.

 

_Labrys: Hiya Sis! It’s me, Labrys!_

_Labrys: I mean I guess that’s pretty obvious since the messages say it outright, but still!_

_Labrys: Anyway, I know you’ll probably be sleepin’ when I send these messages out, but I still wanted to check in on you and tell you I’ve been doing good._

_Labrys: Me and the Shadow Op agents are getting super close to finding that old stolen Ergo tech, I can feel it! Well, I really hope I’m right on that feeling, because I really miss ya tons and wanna get home._

_Labrys: I think we should be done before summer’s over, so I should hopefully be able to get to Inaba’s festival at the end of summer this year and get to see everyone again. You gotta come with me this year, okay?_

_Labrys: XOXOXO Labrys_

_Labrys: P.S. I really do miss you a ton, so make sure to send me a message back!!!_

 

Aigis smiled widely, glad to see her sister was doing so well. She sent a curt message off back in response to say she was doing alright as well. Aigis truly loved her sister and having someone like herself, someone she could call family was something that had brightened Aigis’s world ever since they had met. It was then Aigis receive a message from someone else, another of her dear friends - Fuuka Yamagishi.

 

_Fuuka: Good morning Aigis!_

_Fuuka: It’s a beautiful morning today and I wanted to ask if you would be interested in joining me and Naoto-kun for brunch._

_Fuuka: Yukari told me about this very charming cafe called Leblanc in Yongen-Jaya that she claims is quite excellent, so I was very much considering going there._

_Fuuka: I know you can’t eat of course, but I thought you’d like to enjoy the atmosphere and our company._

_Fuuka: We’re working on a very important case, but it’s still important for us to take breaks._

 

Aigis noticed Fuuka seemed to hesitate for a moment before continuing, the ellipses indicating she was typing flashing off for a moment, but they came back as she did.

 

 _Fuuka: It’s also mine and Naoto’s 5-month anniversary since we got together so it’d be nice to relax and enjoy it with her._  [A/N: I originally put three blushing smiley face emojis here, but it turns out AO3 REALLY hates emojis ahahaha]

_Fuuka: Get back to me soon, okay?_

 

Had it really been five months? Aigis remembered when they told everyone in the Shadow Operatives a little bit after they had gotten together. Aigis hadn’t realized it had been a secret, as she had figured it out before they told them - well, most of them had realized except for Chie who had been very caught off guard by the reveal; Naoto told her she had apparently almost choked on her drink. Aigis was happy for them though, the two made a very good pair and worked together exceptionally well, and it seemed that even furthered when it had become romantic between the two of them.

Aigis was so happy to see how happy her friends were now, but what Igor had told her in the Velvet Room worried her; that her and her friends were heading down a ruinous path. She was determined to stop that from happening; Aigis wanted to protect her friends’ smiles, no matter what it took.

* * *

_Aigis: That sounds lovely Fuuka-san._

_Aigis: I should be able to find my way without issue, so I will meet you there._

 

The day’s first light streamed in through her bedroom’s windows, bathing Fuuka Yamagishi in the warm morning golden light as she smiled down at her phone. She was sat up in bed in comfy pajamas, her back against the headrest as she flipped through her phone. Her long teal hair was a frazzled mess; it always got like this in the morning, which is why she used to keep it so short when she was in high school, but she liked to keep it long and tying it up into a braid now even if it meant having to deal with the process of getting it all down in the morning… Though Naoto also liked it long which helped.

For these past few months, Fuuka Yamagishi had become incredibly happy. She felt like every day had become a dream come true and she kept being worried she was going to wake up, but no, this was her actual life now. She looked to Naoto, sleeping peacefully next to her and Fuuka’s heart sang. She was such a huge dork when it came to being lovey-dovey, but she absolutely loved it. Through most of her life, Fuuka hadn’t been very good at romance, she had some confusing feelings back in high school she was always too scared to act on, and while some guys had asked her out in university and she had been polite and accepted, she’d never have a second date with any of them because it never felt right. This did though, very much so.

Fuuka ran her fingers through Naoto’s long soft and silky blue hair, gently rousing her from her sleep. Naoto got up with a yawn, and sat up next to her, Fuuka beaming as always.

“Good morning Naoto-kun,” Fuuka chirped, as happy as a springtime bird.

Naoto yawned and stretched, but looked to Fuuka with a warm smile, glad to wake up next to her. “Good morning Fuuka.”

The two leaned in closer together, sharing a brief morning kiss before Naoto stepped out of bed. It was moments like this that made Fuuka how ridiculous she was; they had already been together for months but little things like this still made her feel so happy, those little moments of bliss. She desperately tried to not show it since Naoto was always so cool and collected, Fuuka didn’t want to embarrass herself.

“So, Fuuka, what are we doing today?” Naoto asked.

“Oh, I told Aigis we’d meet for brunch!” Fuuka exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “Do you remember that cafe Yukari told us about called Leblanc? I thought we’d go there.”

“She said the coffee was ‘incredible’ didn’t she?” Naoto remarked. “I quite look forward to trying it.

“Anyway, I’m going to go leap in the shower and get ready,” Naoto started to leave the bedroom, but leaned back into look at her partner once more. “You can feel free to blush and be embarrassed now.”

Fuuka’s face turned red and she giggled happily to herself as Naoto headed out of the room; she always did quickly figure Fuuka out when she got like this despite how much she tried to keep her cool. She supposed Naoto wasn’t an ace detective for nothing after all. Fuuka beamed, placing a hand on her chest and feeling her heart beat happily away.

The shower came to life, the steady stream of hot water feeling nice against Naoto Shirogane’s body, as she worked away at lathering her very lengthy head of hair. She kept it so short when she was younger because of how she wasn’t secure with her femininity for so long, but she had started to grow it out… She was starting to think she should cut it again though, since it was now past her waist and while it looked very nice, it was starting to be a bit of a hassle. Though, it was Fuuka who suggested she grow it out so long in the first place and they did both have their hassles with long hair.

Naoto giggled softly to herself as she heard Fuuka hum a happy song to herself outside; she couldn’t believe they had been together for nearly five months. If she had told her 16-year old self about this, she likely wouldn’t have believed it; she barely knew Fuuka Yamagishi when they first met back then and the two of them had barely talked except to find out each other names after everything that happened in Inaba surrounding the P-1 Grand Prix and Climax. The Investigation Team and the Shadow Operatives had gotten to know each other afterwards, and they willingly signed themselves as reserve members in case something as insane as what had happened in Inaba happened again - they felt it was their duty as Persona-users. Fuuka actually hadn’t been a member of the Shadow Operatives then, she had but come at the request of Mitsuru to help them in this incident, but she joined up fully after everything happened, wanting to fulfill some sense of duty.

It ended up being similar for Chie and Naoto though. While the rest of their friends went on to live regular lives, they both wanted their Personas to be of use, to not let this power they had been gifted to go to waste; so it was that they joined the Shadow Operatives in full, though Naoto still acted as a private detective as her day job and Chie as a police officer for the Metropolitan PD.

That is when Naoto Shirogane began to really know Fuuka Yamagishi; Naoto had wanted a roommate to afford living in a nicer part of Tokyo and Fuuka was kind enough to volunteer. Naoto hadn’t counted on how well she would get to know Fuuka though, that the very shy and reserved girl she had met a few years prior was actually incredibly smart and analytical, and Naoto began to value her perspective when she was working on cases. Eventually even her clients started to see Fuuka as the ace detective’s assistant, the Watson to her Sherlock in a way. Naoto had always preferred to work alone before, but there was something about Fuuka as they got closer that made her want to keep her by her side.

Perhaps Naoto hadn’t really admitted to it because she was so inexperienced with love; besides her very short-lived crush on Yu-senpai and her brief relationship with Kanji, it wasn’t something that concerned her. She had cared for Kanji greatly of course, and she still did, but they never got truly serious, and split amicably after realizing they were heading down very different paths in life, Kanji taking over his family’s business in Inaba and Naoto going off to continue her own family’s lineage of being great detectives off in Tokyo.

So Naoto hid that growing attraction to Fuuka from even herself, shaking off why she wanted to be so close. Perhaps a part of her did so because she feared it wouldn’t be mutual and she didn’t want to make a fool of herself. They had stuck faithfully side by side as partners though, even when Yaldabaoth towered over Tokyo with all his might, threatening to bring about the end of the world. Their bond grew stronger and stronger, but Naoto still wouldn’t admit it.

She wouldn’t until a rather difficult case in spring; a nefarious murder. Naoto and Fuuka had managed to solve it together though and Naoto’s client had been extremely grateful, offering forth a rather expensive wine from a very good year as thanks. So the two had decided to pop it open back at their apartment and share in it after the case had gone so well, and with their inhibitions lowered, it hadn’t been Naoto who had said anything but Fuuka;

_“I...I really like you Naoto…”_

At that very moment, Naoto Shirogane felt like her heart stopped. She had long prided herself on being able to well articulate her thoughts, but she felt as if she lost all her words. As she was silent, Fuuka began to panic, apologizing for confessing, worrying she had ruined their friendship and scared Naoto was upset with her. It was the complete opposite of course, but Naoto could barely speak. She realized though that actions could speak far louder than words.

In that moment, Naoto Shirogane kissed Fuuka Yamagishi and nothing had ever felt so right. She felt like her heart was going to burst out of her chest, and the moment seemed to go on forever, and Naoto wanted it to. To think she’d let herself be caught up in such a moment of passion; she wanted to laugh at herself for it. The moment did eventually end though, both of their faces extremely red in the aftermath and the two didn’t talk again until the day after. Fuuka was afraid Naoto would consider it an accident, but after that kiss, Naoto didn’t want to lie to herself anymore and she wanted to be with Fuuka in that way, that it wasn’t a mistake. Fuuka had been so nervous after that, she had been absolutely adorable.

It started out awkwardly as they came to accept it… But Naoto hadn’t felt happier. Fuuka began to be this hopeless romantic around her, completely happy with their relationship and how they were together, and Naoto didn’t want to admit it to herself how much of a hopeless romantic she was herself as they got closer and closer. She could envision a future with Fuuka, that they would walk the same path together through it all. A tiny bit of her worried they were moving fast, but they clicked so well together, and besides, they already knew one another so well after living together so long, it all flowed around them naturally.

She and Fuuka had kept their relationship a secret for the first few weeks, while they were still settling into it, but they eventually did tell their friends, all of them very happy for them. She remembered inviting Fuuka along with her during one of the few rare times that her, Rise, Chie, and Yu all got to meet up for lunch. They all lived in Tokyo, but they were all terribly busy most of the time, Yu with university and Rise with her idol and acting career but she wanted to tell them now.

Yu took it in stride, and offered his congratulations to the two, Rise was absolutely ecstatic, and it took Chie a full minute to realize what she had meant when Naoto had said her and Fuuka were “together” now, upon which she nearly choked to death on her drink because it caught her by such surprise. Of course the others back in Inaba found out soon after and were as happy for her, though Naoto vividly remembered Teddie in particular lamenting how he would never get to score with her. Their co-workers in the Shadow Operatives were not so surprised, because all of them had figured them out immediately - Naoto realized they weren’t exactly as subtle as they could be when Aigis told them “they smelled like one another” much to both of their embarrassments.

Naoto smiled in her reverie as she reminisced about all that had happened these past 5 months as a couple with Fuuka. It felt like longer, and Naoto hoped it would keep being as pleasant as this - she never saw herself as one to be so lost in domestic bliss… But it was definitely a very welcoming feeling. This trip down memory lane had been a good distraction though as she finally rinsed the last of the shampoo out of her hair.

Naoto wrapped a towel around herself and stepped out of the shower and the bathroom. Fuuka waited outside with her frizzy long teal hair, leaning against the wall. She beamed at Naoto as she stepped out. “I probably won’t be in the shower for too long, I just want to get my hair straightened out. I put your suit out for you on the bed though.”

“I’ll help you with your braid once you’re out, okay?” Naoto said. “Aigis is probably already waiting outside of the cafe for us, so we don’t want to keep her waiting on us too long.”

Fuuka giggled at the thought, both of them knowing the mechanical girl’s tendency to arrive at meetings as early as possible; especially since she usually didn’t take the trains and bounced around the city with her ridiculous movement capabilities. Somehow she had been completely discreet about it all these years and there hadn’t been a bunch of rumors about a super robot girl.

The shower turned on once more as Naoto made her way back to the bedroom, Fuuka having neatly made the bed like always. Naoto’s pale blue suit with black accents suit lied nice and flat on top and she took to getting dressed, slipping it all on, suit and tie and her thin white gloves over her hands. It was a sharp look, her rich blue hair standing out rather well against the pale colors of the suit. She sat back on the bed awaiting Fuuka, who eventually did come out of the shower and got dressed in a loose, oversized teal turtleneck and a lengthy gray skirt, and looked as adorable as always as she leaned back against Naoto.

“So we’re meeting Chie and Akihiko later today right?” Fuuka said as she looked back at Naoto who was working away at tying her hair up for her.

Naoto nodded, as she looped Fuuka’s soft straight hair around itself with her fingers. “It probably won’t be till later tonight. Chie said she’d tell me where probably after lunchtime or so.

“It better not be a bar though,” Naoto sighed. “I don’t feel like dealing with how moody she gets when she’s drunk.”

Naoto finished tying up Fuuka’s braid as they continued to converse lightly. Naoto could almost feel herself blushing when she saw how Fuuka was absolutely radiant today; the adorable teal-haired girl was as happy as could be that they had been together for five months. Naoto always tried to keep up the facade of being mature and collected, but she could barely keep her own heart from beating so fast as Fuuka looked more beautiful today than ever.

“You’re blushing Naoto-kun,” Fuuka giggled at her.

Naoto was caught off-guard but laughed with her. “I suppose I am.”

They were both entirely lovestruck and were probably going to keep being so, able to enjoy being with one another as much as they did. Naoto wrapped her hand around Fuuka’s and the two of them set out to meet Aigis.

* * *

One of Aigis’s greatest traits was her efficiency. It was likely the most robotic thing about her, and it was because of this trait that Aigis now found herself awkwardly waiting outside of the cafe Leblanc for Fuuka and Naoto having arrived far earlier than she needed to. She stared up at the sign reading “Coffee & Curry” and then around the back alleyways of Yongen-Jaya. It was quite out of the way but it had a cozy feeling to it that Aigis enjoyed somewhat. A nice little pocket away from the usual hustle and bustle of the rest of Tokyo.

“Aigis!”

She turned her head to see Fuuka Yamagishi with a big smile on her face, cheerfully waving to Aigis with one hand and holding onto Naoto Shirogane’s with the other as the two walked up to her. Aigis waved back with a smile, glad to see the pair of them.

“Hello Fuuka-san and Naoto-san,” Aigis said. “You seem to be doing well.”

“Quite well,” Naoto replied. “I trust you are as well Aigis?”

She nodded while Fuuka spoke up. “Why are you waiting outside Aigis? You could have headed inside ahead of us.”

“I did not wish to be an inconvenience on the proprietor of this cafe,” Aigis answered. “They would likely not take well to me loitering within their business and not ordering anything to eat.”

“Oh… I do suppose that’s a good point,” Fuuka muttered. “Well, we’re all here now, so let’s head in together!”

The three girls headed into the cozy little cafe, a bell ringing as they pushed open the door. It was filled with a very pleasant aroma and a middle-aged man with slicked-back dark hair, a pink shirt, and a black apron stood behind the counter of the establishment, reading away at a newspaper to spend away his time while he had no business. He looked up with surprise at getting customers, but was quickly composed.

“Hey there, welcome to Leblanc,” the man smirked. “How can I help you?”

Fuuka looked over to Aigis. “Oh Ai-chan, can you get our seat for us?”

Aigis nodded and made her way over to one of the booths as Naoto talked to the man. “I pride myself on my skills as a coffee connoisseur, but I heard recently that this place was quite excellent… So instead of saying my blend, I’d like to see if you can surprise me.”

He laughed, putting the newspaper down. “Sounds like my kind of gamble, one I’m sure I can win” - he then turned his gaze to Fuuka - “and how about you missy? You don’t seem to be the gambling kind like your girlfriend here.”

Fuuka was caught off guard by him figuring out they were a couple so fast, a blush overcoming her face. “I-I wanted to try out the curry actually! Though I would like some coffee as well, I’m not quite the expert on blends. I just want something sweet with plenty of cream and sugar - I don’t handle bitterness too well.”

The man nodded. “All right, shouldn’t take me too long. Feel free to take a seat while I get it all ready.”

“Thank you very much, Mister.. Uh…” Fuuka muttered, realizing she hadn’t asked him his name yet.

“Sakura. Sojiro Sakura,” He confidently smirked at the pair. “You’d do well to remember it since any customers I get become regulars sooner or later.”

While all of this had been going on, Aigis had been working on getting them a booth; the cafe was incredibly small so it wasn’t like it was a great feat. Something did stop her though, catching her off guard as she heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs at the back of Leblanc and she came face to face with a frizzy-haired young man, his dark grey eyes from behind his glasses staring back into Aigis’s own dark blue ones.

It felt like the tiniest spark had erupted a huge flame within Akira as he saw this girl, this complete stranger to him. He was filled with some bizarre feeling as he beheld her, tuning the rest of the world out. She was certainly beautiful, but this couldn’t be some kind of stupid love at first sight thing, right? Akira felt he wasn’t that cliched, but he had no idea what this feeling was. He wouldn’t be snapped out of it until the bag slung across his shoulder started squirming.

“Are we out of the cafe yet Akira?” Morgana’s voice came muttering out of his bag. “It’s way too suffo-”

Akira sharply elbowed his bag, looking awkwardly away from the girl as he did, nervously laughing to try and cover up Morgana’s protests. Sojiro didn’t want people to know a cat was staying in the building so if regular people heard Mona’s meowing, it’d cause them no end of trouble. The two blue-haired girls walked up behind the strange girl he had been staring at, the soft-looking teal haired girl placing a hand on her shoulder with a look of worry.

“Aigis, are you alright? You look a little bit off.”

… Aigis. That was an odd name, but a nice one. Before Akira could consider it further, the entrance bell of Leblanc rang once more, and Futaba came stomping in as loud as ever.

“Yoooo Akira!” Futaba shouted out, her hand raised above her in a big wave.

“Futaba! I got customers!” Sojiro scolded her. “Try and keep it down.”

“Sorry Sojiro,” Futaba squeaked. “I just usually don’t expect anybody around now.”

Sojiro sighed, and Akira grinned at the two of them as he politely made his way past the small group of strangers. He looked to that girl one last time - Aigis - and realized she was doing the same. He felt a blush overcoming his face as he grabbed Futaba by the shoulder and pushed her outside, quickly saying goodbye to Sojiro before he embarrassed himself further.

“Aaah! What’s up with you Akira?!” Futaba shouted back at him once they were outside.

“Oh, uh, sorry about that,” Akira answered, averting his gaze as he pulled his bag down and let Morgana out, who took a deep breath at finally being able to get out. “Morgana just kept squirming around in my bag, so I wanted to get outside so I could let him out.”

“Yeah geez,” Morgana let out a long exhale, glad to finally get in some fresh air. “I can barely breath in there.”

It had of course been a little white lie, but Akira didn’t just wanna outright tell Futaba “oh I felt this weird spark when I saw this girl for the first time ever in my life”. It was embarrassing! He still wasn’t sure how to describe it either; it sorta freaked him out actually. He shook it off and tried to act like his usual self though.

“Anyway, you and Mona are gonna marathon a bunch of Featherman today right?’ Akira asked her.

“Yep yep!” Futaba nodded, scooping up the cat in her arms. “Ken and Inari are coming too! Oh and Koromaru of course!”

“It’s gonna be a busy day of research!” Morgana declared as he squirmed out of Futaba’s arms and onto her shoulders. “I’ll make sure to give you a detailed report tonight Akira!”

Akira laughed and nodded at the two. “Anyway, I gotta go catch the train to Shibuya again, hanging out with Ryuji today. You guys have fun, okay?”

Back in the cafe, Aigis felt stunned still. What was that feeling? Who was this ‘Akira’? She shook her head and sat down in the booth across from Fuuka and Naoto, trying to act normal. She didn’t want concern them with whatever had just happened… But she couldn’t fully comprehend what had just happened. She also swore she heard his bag talk but she had been so taken by that feeling when she first saw him, she didn’t really think about it.

“Oh, Aigis, have you heard from Labrys lately?” Fuuka spoke up and snapped Aigis out of it. “She’s been away for quite a while.”

Aigis nodded. “I received a message from her this morning. She seems to be doing quite well.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Naoto remarked. “I feel she must fit in quite well overseas, especially with that accent of hers.”

“Oh! You’re right Naoto-kun!” Fuuka agreed with a giggle. “I never really thought about it but she does sound like a character you’d hear in one of those old American gangster movies doesn’t she?”

Aigis giggled at the thought; Labrys as some kind of gangster was quite the amusing mental image. She then decided to bring up something else to keep her mind distracted from what had happened earlier. “I know you said it’s good to take breaks, Fuuka-san… But have we truly found no leads for the current case?”

“No, unfortunately,” Naoto sighed. “Usually my contacts would have been able to find something, but if my guess is right, someone of significant influence is hiding very specific details of these missing cases.

“Chie and Akihiko are doing some digging from within the police department though and Chie believes they’ve managed to find something.”

“... I really hope so,” Fuuka mumbled. “It’s up to about fifteen now, isn’t it?”

“... Yes,” Naoto answered, but looked to Fuuka with a fiery determination, “but we _will_ find them. I swear on it.”

An unpleasant silence fell over the group as they thought about this case and how important it was to solve. It was a welcome interruption when Sojiro came over with their order and a smirk.

“Alright then ladies,” Sojiro said. “I think you should all be-

“Oh yeah, I never actually got your order,” He looked to Aigis with surprise. “Sorry about that, what were you looking for?”

“Nothing, I am just here for the company of my friends,” Aigis replied. “Thank you for asking though.”

“Well, alright then,” Sojiro smirked and looked to Naoto. “Anyway Miss Blue Hair, I think you’ll find I’ve passed your little test. I’ll be cleaning up in the kitchen, so shout if you need anything else.”

Sojiro walked off, leaving the girls to their meals. Naoto brought the mug of coffee up to her face, partaking in the rich aroma before sipping it thoughtfully and savoring the taste. She then began to laugh, confusing Fuuka and Aigis.

“What is it Naoto-kun?” Fuuka asked.

“I’m just realizing I’m going have to come here for coffee from now on,” Naoto smirked. “It’s some of the best I’ve ever had. I suppose he won the gamble.”

As Naoto enjoyed the coffee, Fuuka ate a spoonful of the curry and immediately shot a hand up to her cheek as she let out an excited gasp. “The curry is really good too!”

She scooped up another spoonful and held it out to Naoto. “You have to try it Naoto-kun, it’s really good!”

“Fuuka-”

Naoto stopped herself seeing how excited Fuuka was to share it with her. Naoto could keep her composure fairly well, but having her girlfriend want to share and feed her food in a cozy little cafe while cuddled close together was almost too utterly adorable for her. Unfortunately, how adorable Fuuka was made it extremely challenging for Naoto to actually ever say no to her, even with Aigis right there. So Naoto let the blush overcome her face and ate the curry Fuuka held out on the spoon for her; she was right, it was _really_ good.

“This Sakura-san seems like quite the genius in food,” Naoto remarked as she took the taste in. “Or well, he’s a genius in curry and coffee, which is why I suppose it’s the focus of his cafe.”

Naoto had expected Aigis to make some kind of comment at the display, but Aigis was still distracted; her mind had drifted back to her visit to the Velvet Room, to that bizarre frizzy-haired boy - “Akira” - and that feeling she got when she saw him. Aigis suddenly felt like the world had been turned upside down on her, that her usual hold on things had been ripped away from her. She wanted to tell her friends all this, but she knew how incredibly bizarre and strange it was; she didn’t want to concern them either with what she had found out during her visit to the Velvet Room either, not until she found out  what it all really meant.

“Aigis, are you alright?” Naoto looked to her with concern, and pulling her out of her reflections. “You’ve been acting strange since we’ve arrived here.”

“... I feel somewhat ill,” Aigis lied, deciding to take the excuse. “I am not sure why, but I believe it would be in my best interests to return home for the day and run diagnostics on myself.”

“Oh dear, that doesn’t sound very good Aigis,” Fuuka worried. “I’m sorry for inviting you along when you weren’t feeling well. I hope everything is alright.”

“I am glad you asked me to come along regardless, thank you Fuuka-san,” Aigis smiled and got up from her seat. “I am sorry for leaving the two of you early when there is still work to be done, but I hope you can handle it on your own.”

“It will be fine Aigis,” Naoto said. “Your health is more important, and we can handle ourselves fine without your aid for a day in the least.”

Aigis smiled and nodded, but before she began to head out she looked back to the two once more. “Congratulations on the five month anniversary of your relationship by the way. You two are very cute together.”

Aigis walked off as Naoto’s face turned yet another deeper shade of red as Fuuka giggled happily alongside her at the compliment. Fuuka leaned against Naoto’s shoulder as she smiled away, happy to be with her.

The bell sounded off at the entrance of Leblanc as Aigis made her departure, and she looked around at the alleys of Yongen-Jaya, searching for something - or well, someone. She had lied to her friends; she didn’t plan to return home just yet. There was something else she had in mind first.

* * *

Time ticked forward, the ever continuing force it was. Akira watched as it did as he stared at the clock on his phone, watching as another minute went by. He was fiddling with it; he just wanted something to do with his hands while he felt so distracted. He still couldn’t get that girl out of his head, that “Aigis”. Why couldn’t he get her out of his head and why did it bother him so much?

“Uh bro, you’re looking a little spacey there,” Ryuji spoke up, pulling Akira’s attention back. “What’s up?”

The pair were in the small gym in Shibuya that Ryuji had introduced him to ages back at the bleached blonde-haired boy’s request at wanting to get some training in. Ryuji had been getting warmed up for working out, but noticed Akira was just leaning against the wall in his tracksuit, staring down at his phone.

Akira let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. “It’s nothing Ryuji.”

“Dude, that kinda look you’re making right now…” Ryuji grinned, as he came to a conclusion. “It’s a girl isn’t it?”

Akira looked up to him with a start, Ryuji snickering away as he hit the nail on the head and caught Akira off guard. “Dude, I can’t believe you’ve been holding out on me! I thought we were bros! You get together with some girl back in your hometown and she mad at you for staying up in Tokyo for the summer or something?”

Akira let out a deep sigh, rubbing his eyes before he looked to Ryuji with a very serious look. “I’ll tell you, okay - but tell _no one_ about this, or _else_.”

Ryuji almost recoiled back at how serious that threat felt but nodded away with a nervous grin. “I swear on it man, don’t worry, this is just between us.”

“There was this girl at Leblanc this morning. I’ve never seen her before in my life, but I have not been able to get her out my head since I saw her. I have absolutely no idea why.”

Ryuji stared somewhat dumbfounded; this wasn’t the dirt he was hoping for. “Well I mean.. Was she hot?”

Akira groaned at him. “Well I mean, she was cute, sure, but it’s like… Something more? But I have no idea what it is.”

“Man this is nowhere near the kind of deets I was hoping for,” Ryuji sighed. “This shit sounds like way more up Ann’s alley” - he began to make a mocking kissing face - “all like ‘oh it’s love at first sight mwah mwah mwah!’ or some stupid bulltshit like that- OW”

Ryuji let out a yelp of pain as Akira flicked him on the nose. The frizzy-haired boy just stared at him with exasperation at this ridiculous display. “Like I said, don’t mention this to anyone.”

“Yeah, yeah, fine dude,” Ryuji said, stretching his arms as he strolled away from Akira.

It was he did this though that Ryuji caught sight of something, peeking around the corner at him and Akira. It was out of Akira’s eyeshot but Ryuji had just seen it - a very cute girl with short blonde hair and deep blue eyes staring straight at them.

“...Dude!” Ryuji span back to Akira. “Dude, look!”

Akira looked up at him and walked over with bewilderment as Ryuji pointed it out; a completely empty spot with nothing there. Ryuji let out a shout. “Wait, she was just right there- C’mon, we can still probably catch up to her!”

Akira dragged his feet after Ryuji as he sprinted to the exit of the gym. The sounds of a busy Shibuya echoed down the back alleyway, Ryuji looking back and forth wildly, trying to spot whoever it was he thought he saw.

“Ryuji, who’s this ‘she’ you think you saw?”

“Dude, don’t you remember when you came back I told you about how there was this new girl who transferred into Shujin? And how she was totally into me?”

A smug grin overcame his face. “Dude, she totally tracked me down to watch me work out today, oh man, I can’t believe it.

“If only she wasn’t so shy though…” Ryuji pondered, but then proudly flexed his muscles. “Though I guess I can’t blame her for being intimidated by _these_ guns.”

The equivalent of crickets chirping was all Ryuji heard in response, the sound of cars rushing by the alleyway’s opening. Akira looked at him with tired disbelief and Ryuji gaped back.

“Dude, don’t you believe me?”

Akira shook his head. “I mean I think you saw something bu-”

“Brooo, c’mon!... Man shit nobody’s gonna believe me are they?”

“Nope.”

Ryuji kept prodding Akira, desperately trying to get him to believe him as they headed back inside. Once the door closed behind them and the alley was well and truly no longer in their view, Aigis came falling down from high above, landing gracefully as she did after having scaled up a wall to get out of sight.

That had been far too close; Ryuji Sakamoto’s streak of pure dumb luck in spotting her had continued. Aigis hadn’t accounted for him to be there, but it was confirmation enough that this “Akira” was involved with the Phantom Thieves in somewhat, at least for her. She didn’t know in what way though, or if he was the “notorious trickster”, or why she had gotten that bizarre feeling as she saw him. For the time being though, she did know she couldn’t safely observe them from within the gym anymore, but she still wanted to keep an eye on Akira for the time being.

So she began to wait.

* * *

A menacing man in a dark suit and coat walked forward as the city was blasted to ruins around him, the destruction glinting off his dark aviators and the wicked smile below his terrible toothbrush moustache. A battalion of robotic soldiers surrounded him, following his every command, ripping anything they could get their hands on to shreds.

Their commander’s attention was pulled away from his reverence of the destruction as another force began tearing through his army and came to stand before the man himself. It was a group of color-coordinated superheroes: the legendary Phoenix Ranger Featherman R!

‘Your reign of evil ends here Führer!” Red Hawk proclaimed, pointing dramatically at the terrible man leading the armies. “No longer will you threaten the innocent people of Japan!”

“You truly believe you can stop me and my Last Batallion, Featherman R?!” Führer cackled with a terrible German accent, dark energy swirling around him. “You have yet to see the full extent of my power!”

His maniacal cackling continued, the dark energy swirling about him becoming more and more intense. Featherman R could only watch in horror as the darkness shaped into a most horrible monster!... That looked like a guy in a very bad costume.

“This show isn’t exactly subtle, is it?”

Yusuke caught everyone’s attention with that comment as the outlandish scene unfolded on the TV in the Sakura household living room, the marathon of Featherman R well under way. Futaba huffed up her chest and retorted. “Just because it isn’t subtle doesn’t mean it isn’t good!”

“Well I mean, he is right,” said Ken as he looked over to Yusuke. “A lot of the production crew back during the 70s would have grown up during the post World War II occupation of Japan by America, and a lot of those values they were raised with during that time sorta reflect on it… Well it’s probably pretty obvious by what the bad guys are.”

Yusuke nodded along, speaking up once more. “It is quite interesting for a children’s show to be a window to such a past. I must admit, I’m surprised how knowledgeable you are in these manners Amada-san, you must be quite the fan.”

“W-w-what?!” Ken stammered, laughing nervously to try and cover it up. “I just think it’s interesting is all! I’m not that big of a fan!”

As he said that, Koromaru barked next to him and Morgana sneered at Ken from next to the dog. “Koromaru says you keep a bunch of Featherman figures hidden in your dorm room.”

Ken looked to Koromaru with a terrible grimace; to be betrayed and exposed by his own dog. He couldn’t believe this.

“You should keep ‘em out like I do in my room Ken!” Futaba grinned, slapping Ken on the back. “I mean what’s the point of having figures if you aren’t gonna have them be doing a cool pose?!

“Just don’t let Inari near them,” Futaba glared over at Yusuke. “He’ll try to rearrange them and completely ruin all the work you spent posing them.”

Yusuke shot back, his voice filled with indignation. “Ruin them!? I improved them! Even after watching this much of the show I still cannot see why they went with this absolutely terrible color composition! I can barely stand it!”

“YOU have terrible color composition,” Futaba blurted out. “Do you know how long it took for me to pose those figures in exactly the right way-”

Ken watched as Yusuke and Futaba went at it, arguing over such a ridiculous thing. You could still tell they were good friends regardless though, and it brought a smile to his face. He of course had known people like that, far too well, and he was sort of glad to be a part of a group like this again… It had been a really long time. A part of him still worried though because of something he hadn’t told Futaba yet: that Mitsuru had originally tasked him with keeping an eye on her.

Of course, becoming friends with her wasn’t part of that, that was something Ken had done of his own volition without even thinking about it. It had certainly made “keeping an eye” on her far easier, but he began to actually see her as a friend and enjoyed her company a lot. He was worried if he ever told Futaba the truth about things and how it all started… That it’d all go away. It probably didn’t do any good to keep it hidden, but it was just as hard to get it out there. He knew he had to eventually though.

“-Anyway, enough of this arguing!” Yusuke exclaimed, waving his arms through the air with grandiose. “I am starving and it’s already well past lunch! I believe we should head to Leblanc for some of Sojiro’s most excellent curry to sate this terrible hunger.”

Futaba nodded. “You make a good point Inari. Let’s go get some lunch!”

Yusuke valiantly lead the way, Morgana and Koromaru following after him. Ken tried to get his bearings after the sudden declaration and follow after, but waited on Futaba at the doorway while she turned the TV and everything off. Futaba looked over to him nervously for a moment; there was something she had been wanting to say to him since the summer started, but she hadn’t been able to really work up till it… But now seemed as good a moment as any.

“H-h-hey Amada-senpai,” Futaba stammered. “I-I-I just wanted to say thank you,”

Ken looked over to her with confusion. “Huh? Why? I didn’t… Do anything?”

“No, you did!” Futaba nodded vehemently. “...Look I don’t have many friends. There’s the Phantom Thieves of Hearts who I’m only friends with because of the ridiculous circumstances that caused us to meet in the first place and the only other friend I’ve had besides them is a girl named Kana from elementary school, one of the only ones I had because I used to get bullied a lot back then. I’m still friends with Kana now, but she lives far away now, so I don’t get to see her very often.

“So when I started going to Gekkoukan… I was really scared I was going to be bullied by people again, or just be an outcast in general. I probably could have just gone to Shujin and had Ann and Ryuji with me… But I wanted to prove to myself and my friends that I could be brave, that I could do this all by myself… I started to feel like I couldn’t handle it though, even barely into my first week, there was already people thinking I was a ‘weird transfer student’ and I was way too nervous to try to talk to anyone. Honestly, I felt like I was ready to give up.

“But then you talked to me Ken, and you kept trying to talk to me even after the first time you talked to me when I ended up screaming and ran away because I had been so caught off guard by it and I had no idea how to react, but you kept doing it until I stopped being a nervous wreck about everything. That’s when it all turned around and stopped feeling scary; because you became my friend. I mean you even got me to join the student council, and people finally started to see me differently; well I mean, they still think I’m weird, but now it’s the endearing kinda weird.

“I owe you a whole lot Ken, because I honestly probably wouldn’t have stayed in Gekkoukan if it wasn’t for you. I’ve been wanting to tell you this for a while, even before I found out you were a Persona-user like me but knowing now that you are and that I can trust you with that weird part of my life,” Futaba finished, grinning her big wide grin at him. “It makes me really happy. You’ve become one of my best friends ever Ken, and I’m really happy we met.”

Ken covered his face with a hand, looking away from her as he desperately tried to hide how incredibly flustered he had become by what she had said. He felt like his heart was gonna burst out of his chest again as he saw that cute grin of hers again, and he felt that weird, but not bad, sick feeling all over again.

He finally took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “I was just doing my job as the student council president! I saw another student in need of help, so I couldn’t just stand by… But I’m also really glad we’re friends too Futaba.”

“...Anyway, now that I got all that out,” Futaba exclaimed, desperately trying to cover up her embarrassment after all of that. “Let’s go catch up to Inari, Morgana, and Koromaru before they end up eating all the curry!”

The two walked off, making their way toward Leblanc and Futaba looked to Ken once more.

“Oh, there’s one other thing Ken.”

“What is it?”

“I just wanted to say, I’m also glad you’re so short; everyone else is so darn tall! It’s good to have somebody as short as me for a change.”

“...W-what?! But I’m still taller than you!”

“Well I mean, only by like two inches. Not that significant.”

Ken groaned as Futaba laughed alongside him as they walked side by side, like they had done so many times throughout the year.

* * *

Kabukichō, Shinjuku’s red-light district, was all lit up like the hub of Tokyo nightlife it was. The sheer amount of stimulation was overwhelming, the crowds abuzz with far too much energy. It was here Naoto Shirogane found herself this evening, hey eyelid twitching with the slightest hint of anger. She had jinxed herself this morning; Chie had indeed chosen a bar - some place called the Crossroads - as the meeting spot, much to Naoto’s disdain.

Naoto made her way through the dense crowds, arm-in-arm with Fuuka, who nervously gripped tightly to her. To say this was not Fuuka’s scene was somewhat of an understatement; the red-light nightlife was the most polar opposite of Fuuka there was. She was the kind of a person who’d be in bed early wearing comfy pajamas, reading a book by lamplight or doing something on her laptop until she finally dozed off nice and peacefully. It certainly wasn’t Naoto’s scene either, but she knew how to deal with it far more effectively.

“Hey, what are a couple of lovely... lad...ies…”

A host of some seedy establishment tried to approach the pair, but he immediately backed off as the fear of death was put in him as Naoto glared at him with eyes filled with intent to kill if he dared to move another step closer. The man slowly backed off, fearing for his life and probably nearly pissing himself as Naoto stared him down until he was out of sight.

“N-Naoto-kun, w-we’re almost there right?” Fuuka stammered, tugging on her girlfriend’s sleeve.

Naoto pulled her in a little closer to try to calm her down a bit. “Don’t worry Fuuka, we should be there soon.”

After a bit more travel and going off the main road, they eventually found a sign pointing out the Crossroads and Naoto pushed against the heavy door that , entering it with Fuuka. It had a surprisingly soothing atmosphere, the sounds of the large crowds of Shinjuku being cut off from the rest of the bar, an old jukebox playing a rather nice smooth jazzy piano tune and the lighting was soft and pleasant, making the place a much needed reprieve from the earlier overstimulation.

It seemed a quiet night for the bar, a few patrons present at the bar’s front who seemed more concerned with their drinks then anything else. A rather husky woman in a black and gold kimono tended to them, her attention turning to Fuuka and Naoto as they entered with a smirk on her face.

“My, my, I don’t often get cute couples like yourselves wandering into my place,” she laughed, before looking to Fuuka. “Though you don’t seem to be handling it too well young lady. Is there anything I can do to help?”

Fuuka, still clinging onto Naoto as tightly as possible, tried to stammer out a response, but Naoto was kind enough to answer before her. “We’re just meeting a friend of ours here who didn’t really think ahead about how uncomfortable this woul-”

Chie’s rather flushed face came poking out from a curtain from one of the bar’s back tables and her slurred voice came shouting up, completely disturbing the quiet atmosphere as waved to her. “NAOTOOOOO!!! WE’RE OVER HEEERE!!!”

Naoto sighed, the barkeep giving her a sympathetic look and a laugh. She went along, Fuuka walking closely in turn as the barkeep gave them a nod. “You girls stay safe, alright?”

They made their way back to the table, Chie slamming down another drink as Akihiko leaned back sipping his own drink, but giving his partner a side-eyed glare. Naoto sat down with an annoyed look, staring straight at Chie while Fuuka nervously greeted them.

“Good evening Chie and Akihiko,” Fuuka mumbled, giving them a little wave.

“Hey there Fuuka,” Akihiko nodded to her, then looked to Naoto. “And I’m sorry about this Naoto.”

Naoto opened her mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by Chie speaking up first, her words slurring out of her mouth. “Oh myyyyy gooood, you guys have been together fooor five months now right??? I can’t believe howww cute you two are together… I feel like I’m gonna die from how sweet you two areeee.”  
Chie giggled along as Fuuka nervously looked to the floor and Naoto scolded Chie. “Chie, you’re really drunk right now,”

“I knooooow,” blurted Chie. “But I mean, Aki’s drinking too!”

I am, but at least I can hold my liquor, unlike you,” Akihiko stated back.

“Oh looook at mister big man who can hoooold his liquor,” she babbled back. “C’mon, you wanna fight?! Put up your dukes Aki-san! I’ll take you down… Any day...”

Chie wobbled back and forth, looking like she was about to pass out. Naoto sighed and tried to redirect attention. “Let’s get down to business, shall we? I assume you two were able to find what we were looking for?”

“Heck yeah we did!” Chie exclaimed. “I meaaan, it was a total pain though. I’m gonna have to buy this one dude like, fifty of those cute little ice cream things from Junes, like oh my gooood.”

“Let me just grab it from my bag…” Chie said, and began to search around her and having no luck actually finding it as she started to panic. “Waaait, where’s my bag?!”

“I have it, remember?” Akihiko sighed, and pulled it up from beside him. “Anyway, Chie’s drunk, but she is right about how this was a hassle. I think you’re right that someone might be covering this up Naoto.”

He reached into the bag and pulled out a rather large stack of files, pushing it over the table to the blue-haired pair. They looked at it and then to one another with a nod as they split it among themselves, and began to pour through it all. Silence fell over their table as they did so with nothing but the sound of flipping papers and the occasional time Chie would order a refill. Finally after about a half-hour of this, Fuuka turned to Naoto with a confident smile.

“Naoto-kun, I believe I’ve noticed a reoccurring trend among these cases.”

Naoto nodded back to her. “I think we’ve come to the same conclusion Fuuka. I’m not surprised we didn’t notice this before; it’s such a meaningless detail, you’d never notice it was being covered up.”

“It’s so split up between them all though,” Fuuka muttered, rubbing her chin. “But it’s the only linking factor besides the age group.”

“Huh?” Chie suddenly piqued in, her attention being called back. “What did you guys notice?”

“Yeah, I’m wondering the same thing,” Akihiko added. “What’s this ‘linking factor’?”

Naoto and Fuuka looked to one another and then back to Akihiko and Chie as they both answered simultaneously. “Destinyland.”

Chie and Akihiko both looked shocked at the revelation, Akihiko stammering out. “Wait, Destinyland?! You mean the huge theme park!?”

Chie in the meanwhile was busy reacting to something else as she let out a high-pitched squeal. “Oh. My. God. You guys said it at the _same time_. Oh my goooood. Why are y-y-you -*hic*- so c-c-cuuute together???”

As she finished saying that, she stayed stunned for a moment before her eyes began to well up, which was then followed by her bawling loudly. “I’mmm gonna be single foooorever!!!! The P-1 Grand Prix was right; I’m the Carnivore Who’s Discarded Womanhood! I’m never gonna find anyone and be like how happy you guys are together!!!”

Chie planted her face into the table as she bawled harder, the terribly moody drunk side of her starting to pour out. Akihiko gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder while Fuuka leaned over the table and tried to calm and reassure her that she was sure Chie would find someone someday. Naoto just looked at the scene with irritation, letting out a sigh as such as she rested her face into the palm of her gloved hand.

She continued being as exasperated with this as Chie suddenly shot back up and sprinted from the table and to the bathrooms as she shouted. “Oh god I think I’m gonna puke!”

* * *

“See you Ryuji!”

Akira and Ryuji went their separate ways for the evening, Ryuji having to take care of some business and Akira deciding to head out for the station himself and catch the train back to Yongen-Jaya. He hadn’t expected to spend two days in a row in Shibuya, but it was nice even despite Ryuji’s continuous insistence he had seen that transfer student.

Akira took in a deep breath of the evening air, enjoying how the ward changed once it got dark. The lights, the sounds, and the crowds; sure they could be somewhat overwhelming, but for Akira, it made him feel at ease, and he was happy to be back in Tokyo. He would never have thought he’d have taken to the city life so readily back before he was ‘exiled’ here, but it started feeling like home to him. He had missed it a lot back during his past months back home and he was sure he’d miss it again once summer vacation was over and he had to go back. He knew he wouldn’t be gone for too long though, but for now, he’d enjoy the time he had with his friends as best he could.

Akira was snapped out of his thoughts as he felt a sudden jolt; he and someone else had accidently hit shoulders while passing by each other. He span around to apologize quickly, only to be caught off guard and stunned into silence like he had back at the start of the day as that bizarre feeling came to him again. It was her again, that beautiful girl with the short blonde-hair and the dark blue eyes - ‘Aigis’ - and she stared right back into his dark grey eyes with as much shock as Akira had in his.

He wanted to say something, but Akira couldn’t get a word out. His tongue felt like it was twisted around itself as that overwhelming sensation tingled throughout his body. He tuned out of the rest of the world; the lights, the crowds, and the sounds of Tokyo becoming nothing but white noise as he and Aigis stared at one another. He wasn’t even sure how long they did so, barely registering it as the city flowed around them.

Finally Akira managed to stammer out something. “Uh, I-”

That was all he managed to stammer out as he could only watch in utter bewilderment as ‘Aigis’ span around on her heels, did a complete 180, and bolted away from him faster than he had ever seen anyone run in his life. It happened so fast, he wasn’t even sure how to react, standing there with his mouth agape as the sensation faded away. All he could do was be perfectly still as the crowds shuffled past him.

He let out a sigh; he had no idea what had just happened and he decided to give up trying to understand it. He turned back around and started heading to the station once more, just wanting now to go to bed and try to forget all of this had just happened. He couldn’t tell anyone about this, about all that had just happened or this weird ‘Aigis’ girl. It was just way too outlandish; nobody would believe him. It still bothered him though, this problem of not being able to properly articulate what he felt whenever he saw her. What was this feeling and why did it get under his skin so much?

* * *

Late night fell over Tokyo, the sun having long gone to sleep. In the Iwatodai ward in particular, a calm had fallen over the streets and at the Gekkoukan dormitories everything was dead silent. All of the students had returned home for summer vacation; well almost all of them, the only remaining one being Ken Amada.

He pushed open the entrance way, the familiar sight of the entrance lounge he had known since he was ten-years old greeting him. Koromaru came leaping in behind him, happily barking away as he bounced onto the nearby couches as Ken flipped the lights on with a sigh. How empty the dorms got during summer never used to bother him so much, but now it felt lonelier than it had before. Maybe it was because he had never really bothered to get as close to his dorm mates as he had when he stayed here during his time in Gekkoukan Elementary.

It started to sink into him how much he had let himself get sucked into schoolwork. He had left the Shadow Operatives to enjoy his youth but he realized he had just ended up trading in one focus for another. He chuckled somewhat sadly to himself as he sat down on the couch and stared at the blank TV screen. Koromaru leaped into his lap and he pet the dog as he excitedly wagged his tail; at least he still had Koromaru throughout all these years so he hadn’t been completely by his lonesome.

For these past five years, Ken had envisioned his life of just going through school and then rejoining the Shadow Operatives once he got older. He never really thought of it outside of that, about how he wanted to be as a person or what he really wanted to do with life. Then that all changed because of Futaba Sakura and suddenly that illusion - that serious focus of his - crumbled as he let himself get close to someone the most he ever had in ages. Her and the rest of the Phantom Thieves made him put down those defenses for the first time in ages; maybe it was because they reminded him so much of his old friends and all the memories they had together.

Those memories… He smirked to himself, remembering the times before things had gotten so bad for SEES, when all of them were happy as could be. In fact, he remembered a more recent time he recalled those memories, several weeks back.

“Hey, is this you?” Futaba teased, pointing at the old photo Ken kept on his desk. “You were a cute kid. Way cuter then you are now.”

It was nearing the end of the semester and exams were right around the corner. In this moment, Ken had decided to invite Futaba back to his dorms to try and get some studying in, but her interest in all of it had been pulled everywhere else she hadn’t seen his dorms before. They had finally made it to his room and he let out a sigh as he looked back. Futaba was holding up an old picture he kept around; one with him and the rest of SEES back during the Naganaki Shrine Summer Festival back in 2009. To see ten year old him proudly holding up the goldfish Shinjiro had caught for him from one of the fair games, not to mention seeing both Shinjiro and Minato next him, all of them with big smiles on their faces… Those memories brought a sad, but nostalgic smile to his face.

“So who are all these guys anyway?” Futaba asked as she looked at the picture. “I mean, I recognize her” - Futaba pointed at Yukari - “THE Yukari Takeba, you already told me you knew her when you were a kid.”

Koromaru barked up at her and Futaba looked down at him with a grin. “And of course I know that you’re the dog in this picture Koromaru!”

Ken chuckled at that as he looked to Futaba. “... I haven’t really been completely honest to you Futaba.

“I don’t like people pitying me, so I usually don’t tell anyone…” Ken began, a sad look in his eyes. “...My mom died in an accident when I was a kid. I didn’t have any family or anything to take care of me, but I ended up being able to stay in the Gekkoukan dorms since I had nowhere else to go.

“It was actually this same dorm we’re in now. They closed it for like a year back in 2010, but reopened it later. The people in that picture we’re who was in this dorm with me… And they basically became my family. When I had no one else, they were all there for me.”

Ken smiled warmly as he fondly remembered. “I don’t see them as much anymore, but even after all these years, they’ve always been there for me when I’ve needed them.

“I’d appreciate it if you kept this between just us,” Ken said. “I don’t really like telling people my whole sob story, but I trust you Futaba.”

Futaba looked down for a moment but then turned her gaze back to Ken. “.. Heh, I guess we have even more in common then I thought Amada-senpai

“My mom died in an accident when I was a kid too,” Futaba began. “I actually did have relatives… But most of them were awful, awful people.

“But then Sojiro adopted me!” exclaimed Futaba. “And for the first time in awhile, I felt like I had family again.

“Family can be whatever you want it to be, even a bunch of teenagers and a dog, or a grumpy old man!”

Futaba nodded sagely after saying so and Ken started to laugh. She was right, but just saying it directly like that tickled something in him. “Yeah, you’re right Futaba. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about your tragic backstory either okay?”

Futaba grinned her big grin at him and nodded. “Deal!

“Oh, but you still gotta meet Sojiro! Also all of my friends!” Futaba exclaimed. “That’s why you gotta come with me to the little party we’re having once summer vacation is here! Okay?!”

“Yeah, you’ve told me before, I’ll make sure I come,” Ken replied. “First though, we still have exams to worry about before summer vacation. Which is, you know, why I invited you over in the first place.”

Futaba sheepishly smiled back at him. “I mean, I guess you make a good point.”

She put the picture back down on Ken’s desk, letting her gaze linger on it for a moment. “...I hope I get to meet your friends someday too Ken.”

Ken pulled himself back to the present, to the empty Iwatodai dorms and a dozing Koromaru on his lap. He softly pet the dog, deciding he could stay here for a bit in the lounge before going to bed; he’d feel bad disturbing Koromaru while he was sleeping so peacefully. He reflected a bit more about that day though… And then remembered the rumors it had dragged along with it.

Ken realized he had been a bit dense; people already talked about him and Futaba in… ‘that’ way before because of how close they were, but he didn’t think about the image it painted, him inviting her over… and the two of them being in his dorm room. All alone. Together. If he had even a hint of foresight he probably would have suggested him and Futaba study somewhere else for exams. Unfortunately, Ken didn’t realize he had been a complete idiot and soon he had heard rumors about him and Futaba being a couple and them doing …. ‘that’ aswirl at school.

He let out a sigh as his face flushed red with a uncomfortable frown; fortunately those rumors hadn’t reached Futaba, so he didn’t have to worry about her being embarrassed or harassed. He was sure those rumors would die off by the time they returned to school after summer vacation anyway, so he probably didn’t need to worry too much. He didn’t want people getting the wrong idea about them and have it cause any problems for himself or Futaba especially.

It was then he was pulled back to reality with a start as his phone began to ring. Koromaru woke up and looked up to Ken with a whimper as Ken looked at the dog apologetically. “Sorry boy…”

He pulled his phone out of his pocket as Koromaru jumped out of his lap and looked at the caller ID: Mitsuru Kirijo. He wasn’t expecting a call from her, but it was always a nice surprise.

“Hey Mitsuru-san,” Ken answered.

“Good evening Amada-kun,” Mitsuru greeted from the other end of the line. “I hope I didn’t disturb you. I know it’s quite late.”

“You woke up Koromaru, which he isn’t too happy about,” Ken joked. “I was up though, so it’s fine.”

Mitsuru giggled. “Well, tell Koromaru I’m quite sorry for disturbing him.”

“So, why are you calling Mitsuru? I mean, it’s not like I’m not always happy to hear from you, but I’m guessing there must be a reason.”

Her tone turned a bit more serious. “There is but… I wanted to make sure, but you’re all right, right Ken?”

“Huh? Why wouldn’t I be?”

“...I suppose a part of me was a bit concerned when you willingly volunteered yourself to aid the Phantom Thieves during all of that business with Ito’s Palace several days ago. I know you wanted to leave this sort of life behind you and go onto some sort of normalcy.”

“Heh, I know I said that back a couple of years ago, but I guess the Phantom Thieves sort of left an impression on me. I wanted to help them, even if it meant dealing with this kinda stuff again… They’re my friends, Futaba especially. Though I guess I sorta went out of just keeping an eye on her like you originally asked me.”

“Honestly, I’m glad you did,” Mitsuru giggled again. “I don’t think I’ve seen you this happy in quite a while Ken. I’m quite glad to see you making new friends. Koromaru and that cat of theirs seemed to be getting along splendidly as well too.

“Also, I suppose you can say they left quite the impression on me as well… I was impressed with how well they handled themselves during that last incident, enough so I was interested in enlisting their help again in another one. I’d be glad to have you join us as well Ken if you’d like to.”

“Of course, Mitsuru. What’s going on though? Another incident?”

“...There’s far too many details to go over on the phone, I’ll make sure to tell you all in detail tomorrow. It’s a case Naoto and Fuuka have been working on for some time together, and Akihiko, Chie, and Aigis will be joining us on resolving it as well.”

“...I keep forgetting Naoto and Fuuka are like… A thing now,” Ken laughed. “Sorry to go off topic, you just bringing them up together reminded me.”

Mitsuru chuckled. “They’ve officially been together for five months now, which Fuuka estatically reminded me today when we talked. I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner really, they go quite well together.”

“I guess I can’t really say; I think I can count all the times me and Naoto-san have talked on one hand,” Ken continued. “But I remember Fuuka being really happy when she told me, so I’m glad for the both of them.

“Anyway, I presume we’ll be meeting up at your place to talk about all this tomorrow then?”

“Correct. Can I leave it to you to contact the Phantom Thieves for me and inform them of all this? Of course they may not even agree to it, but I have a feeling they’re the sort who can’t leave this kind of thing alone.”

Ken grinned. “I’m pretty sure you’re right about that. Anyway yeah, leave calling them up to me. I’ll see you tomorrow Mitsuru.”

* * *

Akira Kurusu had been pleasantly surprised last night as Ken Amada called him; apparently Mitsuru wanted to enlist the Phantom Thieves again for their help. It had been somewhat of a relief; Akira still wanted to pursue everything that had been going on but had no idea how they were going to do it and if the Shadow Operatives would even let them. It seems they had impressed them enough that they were getting pulled into the fold.

Unfortunately, they had no idea what this incident even was - Ken said Mitsuru was going to tell them during the meeting today - but that didn’t stop him from thinking it was likely connected to whatever Ito’s case was. This sudden resurgence of the Metaverse and all this weird stuff going on... He thought about that weird girl he had met yesterday too, he still hadn’t been able to get her out of his head either.

Him and Ken then split up contacting everyone else; it hadn’t been too hard because everyone else wanted to get to the bottom of this case as much as Akira did. Like he had said to Morgana a few nights prior: “This involves us, whether the Shadow Operatives like it or not” and all of them shared that same resolve.

“Man, this building is friggin’ huge,” Ryuji remarked as he looked up at the huge skyscraper in front of them. “Does Kirijo-san really own this whole thing?”

“Most likely,” Makoto answered. “I imagine it must serve as some kind of practical cover for her.”

“Dude, she must be hella loaded,” Ryuji grinned. “Maybe she’ll show us some ‘gratitude’ if we do a good job.”

Ryuji started rubbing his thumb and fingers together with a grin, trying to think about getting that sweet, sweet cash. He only stopped once he let out a yelp of pain as Ann slapped him upside the head. “Ryuji, we’re not in this for the money! You gotta learn to be more tactful.”

“C’mon Ann, we’re _the_ Phantom Thieves!” Ryuji growled back. “If we’re not pulling off some big heist, what are we even doing?!”

Akira laughed at his friend’s banter as they headed toward the huge building in the heart of Tokyo they had been to only once prior back the day before they dealt with Hayato Ito’s Palace. They actually hadn’t seen it during the daylight before, but it wasn’t any less imposing. It would probably be another lengthy elevator ride up to the penthouse again.

“You should really learn to stop shouting that we’re the Phantom Thieves out loud Ryuji,” Morgana stressed as he poked his head over Akira’s shoulder. “I mean, we’re nowhere near notorious as we are before but you still shouldn’t go shouting it all over.”

“I dunno Morgana,” Futaba pondered. “I’d think I’d be more worried if Ryuji didn’t constantly go around constantly putting our covers into danger and risking us being exposed to the public.”

Yusuke nodded in agreement. “Truly, if that were to happen, I would think someone had replaced Ryuji as to infiltrate our ranks after being told by him we’re the Phantom Thieves.”

“Ah shaddup!” Ryuji growled back. “Let’s go find out what all this shit is about.”

The Phantom Thieves headed into the building to a surprisingly empty and fancy lobby, void of any people with the exception of just one: a familiar purple-haired maid smiling at them as they entered, giving them a proper curtsy.

“It is a pleasure to see you all again Phantom Thieves of Hearts,” Kikuno Saikawa greeted them warmly. “The Shadow Operatives have already gathered up above so allow me to guide you there.”

“Thank you very much Saikawa-san, that would be lovely,” Haru concurred as she curtsied back to her.

Saikawa lead them through the empty lobby to one of the private-use elevators and slipped a keycard into it to gain access. As it ticked down to the first floor she turned around to face Yusuke. “Oh, Kitagawa-sama, would you care for a biscuit?”

Yusuke eagerly took the biscuit as the maid produced it from nowhere as magic and immediately stuffed the whole thing into his mouth, chewing away as everyone (except for Kikuno of course) stared at him with distaste. He just shrugged it off, happily eating away as they awaited the elevator.

“Oh so, since the Shadow Operatives have already gathered,” started Makoto as she tried to distract from Yusuke’s noisy eating, “does that mean we’ll finally be getting to meet the rest of them?”

“Well Amada-kun’s up there right now right?” Ann reasoned. “So Satonaka, Sanada, and Kirijo are probably all up there… What about Takeba?”

“Takeba-sama won’t be there,” pointed out Futaba. “She’s actually just a reserve member of the group; I imagine Kirijo-san won’t call her into this when we already have this many people on hand, especially since Takeba-sama is gonna be super busy now with the new Featherman series being in production.”

“You’re using ‘sama’ for her now?” Morgana mocked her.

“Of course I am, Yukari-sama is amazing!”

Futaba’s eyes sparkled with deep admiration for the actress as Kikuno spoke up once more. “There are three more here you haven’t been acquainted with yet. While I could tell you their names, I believe it’s better for them to introduce themselves to you.”

With a ding, the elevator had finally descended and the doors opened up. The nine of them filed in, the elevator fortunately being luxuriously spacious so they weren’t too crammed together. As the group chatted away, Akira spaced out from the conversation, letting himself get absorbed into his thoughts again. Even more then everything that had been going on, that girl - ‘Aigis’ - had pervaded his head more than anything else and he still couldn’t understand why. He had started to feel as if he had some kind of unexplainable connection with her; that they were tangled in each others’ threads of fates.

“Yo Akira, you’re looking spacey again,” Ryuji chided, glancing over at him. “You thinkin’ about that girl again?”

A hushed silence fell over the group as soon as Ryuji said those words. Everyone slowly turned to Akira who himself turned to Ryuji with an empty glare.

“Hey Ryuji,” Akira said flatly. “Do you remember what I told you yesterday?”

A grimace fell over Ryuji’s face as he realized what he had done. “Oh shit you told me not to tell anyo- MOTHERFUCKER!”

Ryuji cursed out in pain as Akira punched him in the shoulder as hard as possible while the rest of the Phantom Thieves swarmed him with questions. The only exception was Futaba who was nervously tapping her fingers together and trying to hide a somewhat sad expression from everyone.

“Wait, wait! A GIRL?!” Ann squealed. “Oh my god, have you been seeing someone this whole time Akira!? I can’t believe you never told us!”

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!” Morgana hissed as he climbed over his shoulder. “Wait, how did you even keep it a secret from me?! I’m with you all the time!”

“I mean that seems incredibly unlikely, what with Ryuji being the first one to figure it out,” reasoned Makoto. “Maybe it’s just someone he’s interested in and Ryuji found out by chance?”

“I find even that hard to believe,” Yusuke commented. “Ryuji isn’t the most observant one.”

“Oh shut the hell up!” Ryuji growled as he rubbed his now sore shoulder. “I totally noticed it when we were hanging out yesterday.”

“Well regardless, we should let Akira explain himself,” Haru spoke up. “I’m sure he has a good reason for not telling us.”

Akira let out a sigh as he rubbed his forehead. “Look, it’s nothing like you guys think. I was hoping to not tell you because it’s super embarrassing but Ryuji had to be a loudmouth like always. It’s not romantic though.”

Futaba let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that as Akira continued. “There was a girl at Leblanc yesterday. I have never seen her before in my life, but we locked eyes and I have been feeling incredibly strange since then. I can’t even describe it, but I haven’t been able to get her out of my head. It’s like we’re connected in some way but… Look, I know exactly how this sounds but it isn’t like that.”

“I dunno, it sounds pretty romantic to me Akira,” Ann teased, poking at him playfully. “It sounds sorta magical actually, like ‘love at first sight’ or something.”

“You were saying yesterday that she was real cute too, weren’t you?” badgered Ryuji with a grin.

Ryuji let out another scream of pain as Akira jabbed him in the same shoulder again. “Ryuji, I can think someone is cute without being romantically in...vested...in”

Akira trailed off as the elevator dinged and they had finally reached the top floor. The doors opened up and Akira’s dark grey eyes had immediately locked with a pair of dark blue ones staring back into his from the open doors.

Standing in front of the elevator, having been pacing back and forth in the hallway beforehand, was her again; that girl Aigis. This… Akira had not been expecting this. He felt as paralyzed as he had the day before, and only managed to mutter out one thing. “...It’s you-”

Akira fortunately didn’t have to worry too much about having to move himself as Ryuji and Ann shouted out simultaneously in shock. “It’s the transfer student!”

They filed out, walking toward her with the rest of the group following as Aigis slowly backed herself up, her hands held out in front of her to try and keep them out of her personal space as she look at the scene with confusion. Akira was the last to step out, still somewhat in shock from seeing her here of all places.

“Ah, Aigis-sama, are you already somewhat acquainted with the Phantom Thieves of Hearts?” Kikuno inquired as they all began to step closer to the mechanical girl.

“Oh- Um- I- ” Aigis stammered all over herself, not sure what words to use. She was still distracted as she saw Akira come out as well, staring over at him as he did her.

“Wait, what do you mean ‘transfer student’?” Futaba reiterated as she tried to push herself through everyone to get a closer look. “Just what’s the dea-”

Futaba froze up as she got a closer look at Aigis, the cogs turning in her head as she suddenly shot over to her and somewhat rudely started examining her. She tapped her shoulder, took a close look at her and especially the hands she was holding up in front of herself right now. Futaba hummed and hawed, like she was onto something while the rest of the Phantom Thieves looked at her with disbelief.

“Futaba, what are you doing?!” scolded Makoto, trying to grab her junior’s shoulder. “You’re being almost as vulgar as Ryuji right no-”

“She’s not human,” Futaba stated, her eyes wide as she stared at Aigis.

“...I… Um... What?” Ann spluttered. “What do you mean ‘she’s not human’, that doesn’t make any sense.”

“Actually, she is correct,” Aigis finally said something, catching everyone off guard. “You must be quite sharp to notice so.

“My name is Aigis and I am a mechanical human; an android,” explained Aigis. “More specifically, I am a seventh-generation Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon that was created by the Kirijo Group over eighteen years ago. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Everyone among the group of thieves was still and quiet after having been told this story that seemed straight out of science fiction - that androids were a thing that actually existed. The only exceptions were Akira - who was still stunned from earlier - and Futaba, who was squealing so loud from sheer excitement at this prospect.

“Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod!” Futaba blabbered, grabbing a hold of Aigis’s hand as she hopped with joy. “I can’t believe this is happening to me! I’ve heard crazy conspiracy theories about androids and robots existing but I never thought they’d be real! To actually meet someone like you, someone who’s such a marvel of technology! I think I’m gonna pass out.”

Futaba started hyperventilating, still absolutely losing it over this. Aigis looked to her with a smile; it was somewhat ridiculous but she appreciated Futaba’s excitement toward her nonetheless. Finally everyone else stopped being so shocked and got back to questions.

“Wait, if you’re some kinda… robot lady…” Ryuji struggled to find his words but continued on. “Why the hell were you at Shujin?”

“Oh, I should explain that,” Aigis remarked. “You see Mitsuru-san tasked me to observe you - Ryuji Sakamoto and Ann Takamaki - and I was undercover as a student at your school during that time. She was curious about what sort of people you were.”

“Wait, really?” Ann pondered. “I mean, I guess I remember basically no one knowing anything about you even after you had been in our school since spring. So your real name’s Aigis then? I remember you went by like Aiko Amano at our school or something.”

“Correct, that was my cover name. Aigis would likely have stuck out too much.”

“Hold on a friggin’ second here; are you saying all those times I saw you checking me out, you were just ‘observing’ me to see what kind of person I was?” Ryuji recounted, deep in thought. “Well I mean, you were still totally checking me out though weren’t you? I mean how can you resist this?”

As Ryuji gestured to himself like some kind of braggart, Aigis gave him a thousand mile stare as she flatly responded. “My levels of attraction toward you are at exactly zero percent. They would likely be lower if it was mathematically possible.”

Ryuji recoiled back as if he had been dealt the most painful blow he had ever felt, his face contorting into a grimace filled with agonizing pain and sadness. Futaba in the meanwhile was loving every moment of it. “Oh shit! OOOOH SHIT! OOOOOOH!!! I can’t believe how undesirable and unattractive Ryuji is has been utterly PROVEN by science! High five, Aigis!”

Futaba held her hand up for the robotic girl to high five it. Aigis stared at it for a moment before slapping her hand hard into Futaba’s which resulted in Futaba screaming out in agonizing pain as she clutched at it. “OH GOD HIGH FIVING THE ROBOT GIRL WITH METAL HANDS WAS A TERRIBLE IDEA!”

Haru laughed nervously as she looked at Yusuke who had been oddly calm throughout this. “Yusuke, are you okay? You seem to be taking all of this rather well.”

“Well, it’s not that strange,” remarked Yusuke. “I find a mechanical girl is far less of a stretch then the other things we’ve dealt with. Like a talking cat that can turn into a bus, or a smartphone app that lets us traverse between dimensions.”

“...I suppose that’s a good point,” Makoto sighed. “Have our lives truly become this strange?”

Morgana stuck out his tongue at Yusuke before trying to snap Akira out of his stupor. “Hey Akira, you okay? You’re the only one still acting weird.”

“...She’s the girl!” Akira exclaimed, pointing at Aigis. “She’s the girl I met yesterday that I was just talking about!”

A blush overcame his face as he realized how quickly he was losing his cool as all his friends stared back at him, putting his arm back at his side. Aigis smiled warmly to him though. “You are Akira, correct? I overheard your name when we crossed paths the other day.”

“You… You’re the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, am I correct?” Aigis asked, cocking her head at the young man. “... A ‘notorious trickster’ if you will?”

As Akira heard her say that, he became flustered all over once again, but this time it was for a completely different reason: she had just called him “trickster”. He only knew two people who did that, and they were from a place between dream and reality, mind and matter. Akira looked at her with shock as he stammered out his next words. “W-wait, if you’re calling me a ‘trickster’, are you-”

Akira was cut off from getting answers as the door at the end of hallway burst open and a barking excited dog came barreling through, his tail wagging away. Akihiko Sanada, in far more casual clothing then before, came stepping out with Ken, the two of them following after Koromaru.

“What’s all the racket abo-” Akihiko began before he noticed. “Oh, of course, it’s you guys; and I was wondering where you went off to Aigis. I guess you’ve met everyone then.”

Ken waved at them with a little laugh. “Hey guys, how’s it going?”

“Ken!” Futaba shouted as she sprinted over to him. “Why didn’t you tell me you knew a robot girl!?

“Also oh my god my hand still really hurts,” cried Futaba as she clutched at the hand she had used to high five Aigis.

“I mean.. It’s not really the kinda thing that comes up in casual conversation…” Ken said while he pulled at his cheek. “Also, you’ve seen a picture of her before, remember?”

“...Oh yeah! The one with all of your friends at that summer festival!” Futaba exclaimed. “Ooh, are the rest of them gonna be here today?”

“Well… There’s one at least you haven’t met here today who’s in that picture,” Ken hummed, trying to avoid the subject any further.

Koromaru barked up at the group his tail wagging. Morgana opened his mouth to answer only for Aigis to do so first. “I believe they are doing quite well Koromaru.”

“You can understand Koromaru too?!” Morgana shouted out, jumping off Akira’s shoulder to get closer to Aigis.

“Yes. You must be Morgana,” Aigis said, looking down at the cat at her feet. “I was told to expect a talking cat, and you are indeed a talking cat. How strange.”

She leaned down and picked Morgana up, holding him up to eye level. “Koromaru has been speaking very highly of you this whole time, so it is nice to meet you.”

Akihiko sighed and put a hand on Aigis’s shoulder as he addressed them all. “Let’s stop standing around here at the entrance so you can all come inside and properly introduce yourselves so we can get down to business. C’mon Aigis.”

Akihiko turned Aigis around, leading her and the others through the penthouse apartment until they arrived at a fairly nice sitting room with several familiar faces. Chie sat on a couch with a pained grimace as clutched at her head, Mitsuru looked out the large window, and two girls unfamiliar to the Phantom Thieves sat on another couch - a quiet girl with a teal braid tapping away at a laptop and a rather cool-looking mature one with blue hair sipping away at a cup of tea - though Akira actually recognized them.

Mitsuru span to face them as she entered with a smile. “Ah, you’re all finally here.”

“...Hey guys,” Chie grumbled and waved at them weakly. “... I regret everything…”

Akihiko sat down next to her with a smug grin. “Well maybe you shouldn’t have drank so much last night. You wouldn’t have this much of a hangover then.”

Chie looked at him with an annoyed pout as the two blue-haired girls noticed the arriving Phantom Thieves. The one with long blue hair looked to Akira and Futaba with surprise. “We saw you two at Leblanc yesterday didn’t we?”

“Yeah, I remember you two,” Akira concurred with a nod. “You were there with Aigis, right? I’m actually living up in the attic of the cafe so-”

“And my dad runs the cafe!” Futaba proclaimed before she puffed up her cheeks at Akira. “Though I actually didn’t see you guys yesterday. Akira here pushed me out the door faster than I could notice anything.”

“What an odd twist of fate,” The blue-haired girl chuckled. “Allow me to properly introduce myself; I am Naoto Shirogane.”

Makoto suddenly perked up at hearing that. “Wait, THE Naoto Shirogane? The renowned detective? The former Detective Prince?”

Naoto laughed upon hearing her say so. “‘Detective Prince’... Now that is a title I haven’t heard in some time; but yes, I am that Naoto Shirogane.”

“I-It’s an honor! My father used to speak very highly of you and your work with the police; he was very impressed by your skill despite your age at the time,” Makoto blabbered out nervously. “C-c-can I shake your hand?!”

Naoto smiled warmly at her and extended a gloved hand. “Most certainly.”

Makoto eagerly shook away with both of hers, probably getting a little overexcited as Haru spoke up with curiosity. “Detective Prince? Wasn’t that what they were calling Akechi on TV before?”

“Oh, the apparent ‘second coming’ of my title,” Naoto remarked. “I never actually met him, just saw him pop up on TV and heard the stories quite a bit. I knew he had quite a case against all of you though; did you actually meet him?”

“We had a bit of a history with him…” Akira said, looking off into space. “But that’s probably a story for another time.”

“Wait, I’m still wondering,” Ryuji spoke up, “you’re pretty clearly a chick, why were they calling you the Detective Prince?”

Naoto giggled at that, but explained. “I used to present myself very differently back when I was younger, striving for a masculinity that wasn’t really me. I’ve changed as I’ve grown older though and become more comfortable with who I really am.”

The teal-haired girl beside her interjected. “Besides, I think Naoto-kun still is very much a prince. Maybe not the burly ‘knight in shining armor’ type, but a far more handsome and slender effeminate type.

“I believe I quite like that type to be my prince anyway,” she said, looking to Naoto with a bashful smile.

Naoto’s face tinted straight red at that comment, almost seeming like steam was going to rise off of her while Chie let out a loud groan from across the room. “Oh my _god_ would you two stop flirting so hard? We have guests.”

The teal-haired girl giggled as she turned to look at the Phantom Thieves. “It’s very nice to meet all of you! I am Fuuka Yamagishi, our resident support-type expert.”

Mitsuru walked over to them with a confidant smile. “And it seems you’ve already been introduced to our Wild Card, Aigis.”

Akira perked up at that, looking to Aigis. “Wait, you’re a Wild Card too?”

“As are you Akira-san?” Aigis asked in turn.

“Maybe that’s why…”

“The strange feeling we’ve both been having when we’ve both seen one another?”

Akira laughed at her finishing his thought, suddenly feeling at incredible ease after the previous day. “Yeah, it almost feels like we’re connected. It must be because we both have the same power.”

Makoto suddenly spoke up once more. “Oh wait, we still haven’t even introduced ourselves yet! I got so distracted I didn’t realize how rude we were being.”

The Phantom Thieves of Hearts introduced themselves in turn to Fuuka, Naoto, and Aigis. It was short and to the point, all of them introducing themselves quickly and politely. It then ended with Morgan leaping onto the table in front of them.

“And I’m Morgana!” The cat exclaimed pridefully. “I was one of the founding members of the Phantom Thieves y’know! They’d be nothing if it wasn’t for me!”

Fuuka let out a little screech in shock, making Morgana’s fur stand on end. She quickly calmed down but began to stutter. “I-I-I’m s-s-s-so sorry!!! I was told about you but suddenly hearing a talking cat still caught me off guard. I’m so sorry.”

As Morgana glared at Fuuka, Ken finally said something after all the introductions. “So now that they’re all introduced to one another, why did you call us all here anyway Mitsuru?”

“I believe it would be best for Naoto to explain that to all of you,” Mitsuru said, giving Naoto the floor.

Naoto cleared her throat and began. “Me and Fuuka have been working on a case together for about the past month; the incidents of said case started back in spring, and we didn’t find out they were of significance to our field of expertise until recently… Which made it all the more concerning: fifteen children have gone missing, in the age group of five to ten.”

“W-what?!” Haru exclaimed in shock. “T-t-that’s awful!”

“...Why hasn’t there been any major news covering this?” Makoto added on with concern. “I would think it’d be all over.”

“...If you guys are getting involved though then that means…” Akira murmured.

“The problem is there’s no rhyme or reason to these children who have gone missing, it’s not being treated as some kind of serial kidnapping case because there isn’t any connecting factors: they’re all picked off by random, at random intervals in time,” continued Naoto. “Thought of as nothing but the misfortune of living in such a huge city… Unfortunately we did discover the connecting factor; every case of these children going missing has coincided with Shadow readings.”

Fuuka looked up to the concerned faces of the group with her own. “We didn’t even realize at first; the readings were so minor we barely picked them up, that our systems didn’t even register them… They started to become more serious and as we investigated into it further, we discovered the past incidents as well.”

“Wait, are you saying…” Yusuke wondered aloud, deep in thought. “That Shadows have been manifesting in the real world and taking these children?”

Ryuji scoffed with disbelief. “Dude, what? That can’t happen right? Shadows can’t like… Be in the real world right?”

“...Mementos merged with the real world back during Christmas,” Morgana muttered, “but I just took that as the sheer power of Yaldabaoth. Could it actually be possible in a far more minor scale?”

The Phantom Thieves looked around at the others who had far more somber looks on their faces. Akihiko sighed. “You kids are still new to this, but we’ve been around this block far too much. It’s more than possible; we’ve seen it before. You can even summon your Persona in the real world if you’re talented enough.”

“Wait, really?!” Futaba gasped. “Lemme try!”

Futaba closed her eyes and clenched her fists, trying to summon Necronomicon as hard as she could… With no success. She let out a sigh as Fuuka giggled. “It’s very difficult, so don’t feel too let down Sakura-chan. I’m the only one of our group who actually can do so without great struggle, probably due to the fact my Persona is a support-type.”

“Wow, you must be amazing Yamagishi-san,” Futaba marvelled at her.

Ken spoke, trying to draw everyone’s attention back. “Anyway, that tangent aside, you must have called us here for a reason; do you have a lead on the case now Naoto-san?”

Naoto nodded with determination. “Last night, I and Fuuka - with the help of Chie and Akihiko - finally discovered another linking factor in the case. Someone took great trouble to cover it up; it would have likely gone completely unnoticed, since it’s such a minor detail.

“All of the victims in this case went to Destinyland at some point within the last year. Once again, the times are random and all over the place; but be it a whole year, months, a week, or even a few days; after these children’s visit to Destinyland, eventually they’d disappear with a Shadow reading. It’s the only linking factor we have, and the fact it was hidden suggests its importance; whoever covered it up didn’t realize such a thing would look suspicious.”

“It’s common knowledge that Destinyland is owned by a very powerful multinational, mass media conglomerate,” Fuuka added. “We believe that this is likely something brought upon by very powerful figures within their company… Ones who were likely working with Masayoshi Shido.”

The Phantom Thieves of Hearts recoiled back in shock upon hearing that. To have Shido come up again after everything he put them through; they simply didn’t want to believe it.

“But, we stole his heart!” Ryuji growled. “How the hell is anything from Shido still coming up?! He’s in prison rotting away and confessed to everything didn’t he?”

“Justice isn’t as simple as we’d like it to be,” Mitsuru sighed. “While Shido’s been incarcerated for his crimes, it’s a very long process to get everything out of him, and besides, his organization was far bigger than just himself. While we’ve worked toward arresting a great number of them and trying to get information out of them as well, it’s all simply too much. We don’t know how far their reach truly went.

“It’s likely that some tool of Shido’s was working toward research of the Metaverse though, to utilize it to meet their own needs. We believe Hayato Ito and the machine he was hooked up to was one such case… And that Destinyland may be another. We currently theorize that the higher ups in that company were offered a deal by Shido’s group that they would help… ‘take care’ of certain worries for them in exchange for letting them do their experiments as they please.

“It seems those experiments are only coming to fruition now, and whoever was working with Shido is finally making their move…” Mitsuru finished, staring out the window once more. “...To target children, how utterly despicable must they be?”

Silence fell over the group again as they considered how awful this all was. It was only broke when Ann shouted out. “God, what a scumbag! We can’t stand for this right?! There’s gotta be something we can do!”

The rest of the Phantom Thieves shared in her resolve, looking to one another with their overwhelming conviction. They all nodded to one another but then looked to Akira, the leader they would always follow. That smarmy smirk of his lined his face like it always did at moments like these.

“Well, saving missing children isn’t something we have experience in,” Akira joked, “but I think we’d definitely be glad to give it a try”

“I wish we could just steal those rotten shithead’s hearts,” Ryuji grumbled thinking about the big businessmen who caused this in the first place. “But I guess that ain’t really an option anymore.”

“It also wouldn’t be a terribly effective one,” said Makoto. “We’d have to find out their names and where and what their Palace is, not to even mention the fact Palaces don’t even exist as they used to now; but if we can save those children, we’ll have the smoking gun needed to take them down for good.”

“Well now that that’s decided, what should be our first course of action?” Yusuke began, and looked to Akira. “We will follow your lead as always Joker.”

Akira chuckled. “Well I don’t think I need to be leader this time; I’m more then willing to stand aside and take orders from Kirijo-san. She’s got far more experience then all of us after all, and she is the leader of the Shadow Operatives.”

“Thank you for your confidence Kurusu-kun,” said Mitsuru with a smile. “Now then, the main reason I called you all, including Amada-kun, was because of your ages: you’re all still teenagers. In a way, we need you to ‘case the joint’.

“We know Destinyland is likely the source of this, but we need to be sure of what the Palace even is or who could be hosting it. So I need you all to go to Destinyland and see if you can find out anything: with you all being Persona-users, you’re far more attuned to these things and it’s my hope you’ll be able to sense something amiss. You’ll also blend in far better than all of us would considering your ages. A large group of teenagers going to Destinyland to enjoy a day of their summer vacations makes far more sense than a group of ‘suspicious adults’.

“We’ll be supporting you from behind-the-scenes, keeping an eye on the park with our sensors in case anything unusual crops up. Once we can actually go into the Palace, the plan is for us to all head in together and hopefully resolve this situation as quickly and efficiently as possible. If those children can be saved then I don’t plan to waste any time not doing so,” Mitsuru finished, crossing her arms.

“It’s a simple beginning, but a sound and intelligent one,” Makoto complimented. “I look forward to working with you and your people, Kijiro-san.”

The Phantom Thieves of Hearts nodded in agreement and smiled to the Shadow Operatives who did likewise. This was one ‘heist’ they couldn’t fail, and they were going to make sure they didn’t.

“Also, I suppose you can consider it somewhat of a thank you gift for your help with Ito,” Mitsuru chuckled. “You’ll be doing a job there, but still, I want you to enjoy yourselves at Destinyland. You’ve earned it.”

Aigis interjected, raising up a hand. “Would it be alright if I joined them Mitsuru-san? I have never been and it seems like it would be interesting. I also wish to get to know the Phantom Thieves better.”

Mitsuru smirked as Aigis shot a glance toward Akira, and let out a little giggle. “Of course, that would be fine Aigis. Have fun.”

“Man, we didn’t really get to enjoy Destinyland last time because of all the stuff that happened,” Ryuji said. “It will be rad to actually get to do some shit this time.”

Morgana jumped up excitedly. “Yeah! I’m so excited to actually get to see the park this time!”

They all went silent, looking awkwardly away from the cat. Morgana looked to them with confusion.

“Huh, what are those faces for guys?”

“Well, I mean Morgana…” Haru hummed. “We were only able to get you in last time because the park had been privately rented out last time by my family’s company…”

“We’ll be going in during public hours this time,” Akira continued. “It’s the best time for us to see what’s actually going on, otherwise we’ll be missing the point; and you can’t really sneak a cat into an amusement park during its busy summer hours without some issues…”

Despair lined the cat’s face and he cried out. “S-s-so you guys are just gonna leave me behind?! I thought we were a team!”

“Don’t worry Morgana!” Chie called to him. “You and Koromaru can be with me and Akihiko in the surveillance van!”

Koromaru let out a chipper bark at the cat, who looked to him with a sad smile before letting out a sigh. “Fiiiine, I guess I can do that. You guys better not have too much fun without me though!”

Akira grinned, picking the cat up and placing him back on his shoulder. “Anyway, I’m guessing we’ll be doing this tomorrow. See you guys outside Destinyland in the morning?”

The sounds of agreement went through the group before they decided to head out. Everything was decided for tomorrow, so they decided to return to their normal days for the time. It was as Fuuka and Naoto got up that Mitsuru caught their attention.

“Ah, Naoto and Fuuka,” Mitsuru spoke out. “I’d like for you two to join the Phantom Thieves, Aigis, and Ken in Destinyland tomorrow.”

“Huh, why?” Naoto asked, looking to her with confusion.

“Well you are a master detective after all Naoto, if anyone’s able to find anything, it will be you,” she explained. “Fuuka’s powers and senses are also finely attuned so having her within the park would help out immensely as well.

“Besides, a young couple like yourselves out on a romantic, fun date at an amusement park during the summer would blend in quite well,” Mitsuru smirked at the two of them. “You’ve both been so busy with this case lately, I think the two of you deserve a day like this.”

Naoto quickly turned her face away, trying to hide its reddening state while Fuuka looked to Mitsuru with a light blush and a chipper smile. “Thank you very much Mitsuru-san.”

They followed after the Phantom Thieves heading to the elevator while Mitsuru stood there with her amused smirk. Akihiko placed a hand on her shoulder with a chuckle. “C’mon Mitsuru, you don’t need to tease them _that_ much.”

Chie came up behind them trying to contain her amusement. “Geez, I don’t think I’ve seen Naoto blush this easy in ages. Ooooh, she’s got it _soooo_ bad.”

“I suppose Naoto really is the prince Fuuka’s always wanted,” Mitsuru giggled. “I only tease them so much because I’m glad to see them so happy together.”

Akihiko snicked before heading off himself. “Anyway, we’ll see you later Mitsuru. Chie and I gotta head off to work now.”

“Bye Mitsuru-san!” Chie exclaimed, enthusiastically waving farewell to her.

Mitsuru smiled to herself as Kikuno guided everyone back out. The Shadow Operatives had started to feel like a true force for good and not just her way of redeeming her family’s sins. As she headed back to her office to do more work, she thought of the previous year and of the trouble with Shido she had; she was glad the Phantom Thieves of Hearts had become involved and that they were helping them now. If they were today’s youth, she felt that tomorrow’s future was indeed bright.

“Have a pleasant day everyone,” Kikuno said politely as she curtsied. “Until we see each other again.”

The maid headed back inside the building to tend to Mitsuru, leaving everyone else about to spend the rest of their days. Ryuji let out a yawn. “So, since we’re all here, you guys wanna get some lunch or some shit together?”

“I would most certainly appreciate some lunch,” Yusuke mused. “...As long as I don’t have to pay much.”

“Me and Akihiko gotta get back to work unfortunately,” Chie answered. “You guys have fun!”

“Similarly, I and Fuuka will be reviewing the case files in preparation for tomorrow,” Naoto responded. “We will see you then.”

The adults headed off as the rest of the Phantom Thieves agreed to Ryuji’s plan to get lunch. Futaba poked at Ken as he was deciding. “C’mon Ken! Come to lunch with us!”

Koromaru barked up at the boy, wagging his tail and clearly wanting to go along with them too. Ken shrugged. “Sure, why not? We could use a bite.”

“We gotta go someplace with outside seating so me and Koromaru can eat with you guys then!” Morgana exclaimed. “Let’s goooo!”

As they started heading off, Akira hung back for a second, catching Haru’s attention as she saw he was looking to Aigis who hadn’t said anything.

“Oh, Aigis-chan!” Haru exclaimed, catching their attention. “We never asked but would you like to come along with us as well? We’d be glad to have your company.”

“I appreciate the invitation Okumura-san, but I must decline,” Aigis replied. “I must prepare for tomorrow as well. Besides I am actually incapable of eating.”

“...Oh, well then!” Haru laughed, somewhat nervous because she wasn’t quite sure how to act around a mechanical girl. “Well I hope you have a pleasant day!”

Haru hurried to catch up with everyone else, while Akira hung back, still looking to Aigis.

“Hey Aigis, when we see each other tomorrow,” Akira hummed, thinking of how to best put it. “Do you think we can talk, just you and me? I’m curious about you and your powers, and really wanna know more. If that’s okay.”

Aigis pondered that for a moment before looking back to him with a smile. “I would quite like to do the same with you, Akira.

“...Is it fine, me calling you ‘Akira’? I am usually far more formal,” she confided, “but for some reason I prefer calling you by simply your first name. I am not sure why.”

Akira was taken somewhat aback by her saying that. As she stared at him with those blue eyes of her, he felt like his face was starting get a little bit hot. She was cute, very much so.

“Yeah, I don’t mind at all,” Akira replied, desperately trying to keep his cool. “I mean I’ve  just been calling you Aigis, so it seems fair to me.”

“I am glad you feel that way,” Aigis chirped, her smile growing wider. “Goodbye for now, Akira.”

Akira waved goodbye to her as she headed off in the opposite direction of him. He ran to catch up with his friends as they shouted after him for lagging behind so much. He was desperately trying to keep that cool of his as he realized what he was just getting himself into. Akira did not want to deal with the ridiculous prodding he was going to get from Ann when she realized he actually did have a type.

Because he had just realized himself that he did.

* * *

“I feel far more comfortable in my suit,” Naoto sighed, dressed in far more casual clothing. “I would stick out horribly though, so I suppose I must do what is necessary.”

“I always consider it a treat when I can get you out of it-” Fuuka suddenly cut herself as she realized what she was saying. “Oh gosh, I don’t mean in that way!

“I think you look very cute right now Naoto-kun,” Fuuka giggled. “You’re very handsome in your suit, but I’m always happy to see this side of you.”

Aigis smiled warmly as she watched her two friends discuss, being as bashful as ever about their relationship. They had found themselves a quiet little corner in the station nearest Destinyland as they awaited the Phantom Thieves to arrive. The android felt very excited; this was a new experience for her, since somehow over all these years, she had never gone to the theme park. Far too engrossed in her work as an “Anti-Shadow weapon” really, but it was these human moments that made her feel happiest, especially getting to experience them with friends, old and potentially new ones.

“You look very cute as well Ai-chan!” Fuuka complimented her. “I’m surprised to see you wearing something different for a change.”

Aigis looked to her attire, she had traded in her usual very straight, black business outfit for something a little more cutesy: her red tie replaced with a large red ribbon and a red and white schoolgirl-inspired outfit with a long white pleated skirt. She nodded to Fuuka with a smile.

“Thank you Fuuka-san,” she said. “Much like Naoto-san, I had deduced my usual outfit would make me stand out in Destinyland in a negative way. I asked Yukari-san for her aid last night in coming up with something ‘fashionable’ and ‘cute’ as to blend in as a normal teenager.”

“Well if you’re calling everyone cute, don’t forget yourself Fuuka,” teased Naoto. “Though you are always quite radiant regardless of the day.”

As a deep blush overcame Fuuka at the compliment, Aigis felt quite happy for the two and how happy they were with one another. It made her wonder though, about relationships and if she’d ever have one of a romantic nature. The feelings that would require… She hadn’t felt anything like them since Minato.. The feelings she had for him were so strong, something she didn’t think that would ever happen again. She clutched onto that memory and the feelings she felt then. It was a pleasant sensation, albeit a sad one.

Aigis was pulled out of her reverie as the familiar barking of a dog came into earshot. Koromaru came running up to the three, as cheerful as ever. Ken dragged his feet behind him with a can of coffee from a nearby vending machine.

“They’re still not here yet huh?” Ken sighed as he cracked the can open. “We’ve been waiting a while now.”

“I’m sure they’ll be here soon Ken-kun,” Fuuka bubbled, her usual cheery self. “They probably aren’t quite as strict on sleep as you are after all.”

“Hey, it’s important to be up first thing in the morning,” blurted Ken. “It’s not my fault that getting enough sleep and having a good breakfast is a health-”

Ken was interrupted in healthy living spiel as a cacophony of familiar voices came down upon them as the Phantom Thieves finally arrived. They greeted one another warmly as the large group of teenagers and a cat finally arrived.

“Hey Amada-senpai!” Futaba exclaimed. “You ready to ride some roller coasters?!”

“I mean I gue-” Ken coughed as Futaba slapped him hard in the back with her massive grin.

Makoto greeted them warmly. “Good morning Yamagishi-san and Shirogane-san. So I assume we’re going to go meet Satonaka-san and Sanada-san first thing?”

“Indeed, they should be waiting for us along with Saikawa-san in the parking lot,” responded Naoto. “...As long as they didn’t mess something up horribly.”

As they discussed away, Akira waved to Aigis. “Hi Aigis.”

Aigis looked to him with her warm smile. “Good morning Akira, how are you doing?”

Akira hated this, it was going to become so obvious. He was a master thief, he had _faked_ his death, he had stopped a false god from _destroying the world_ ; the number of outlandishly tense situations he had been in were innumerable. So why couldn’t he keep his cool around this ridiculously cute robot girl?

“G-good! I’m doing good! Great!” Akira stammered, laughing awkwardly. “How about you Aigis?”

“I am quite well,” Aigis replied. “It is good to hear you are as well.”

As the group finally began to move onward, Ryuji and Ann lingered in the back of their small crowd, Ann looking suspiciously at Akira and Aigis up ahead talking to one another.

“Man, Aigis is friggin’ cute,” Ryuji grumbled under his breath. “I can’t believe she was a robot this whole time.”

“...Huh, yeah,” Ann responded to him. “...She is cute, isn’t she?”

A devious smirk appeared on her face as she started to realize how Akira was acting around her. Oh, this was going to be fun. So much fun.

* * *

“Oh my god Aigis,” Ann scoffed. “Your face is the same in all the pictures.”

She flipped through all the reaction pictures the attractions the girls had gone on together; the water log ride, the haunted house (which Haru very much wanted to go into), a couple of roller coasters and others. Her and Makoto had reasonable reactions of excitement and fright, Haru was just overwhelming joy and excitement… Which sorta terrified the heck out of Ann, but Haru always weirdly into these kind of things, and Aigis was… Completely flat-faced and reactionless.

Aigis cocked her head in confusion to Ann. “Logically speaking, the rides and attractions present in this amusement park have gone through rigorous safety testing and meet all standards set forth by the IAAPA. I did not feel any need to express any emotions as you did, as I felt completely safe.”

Ann stared dumbfounded at the android, not quite sure how to react to the spiel she had just put forth. Makoto simply laughed at it though.

“I suppose you make quite a good point Aigis. Though it’s fun to let yourself be taken away by it.”

Aigis nodded to Makoto. “I see. I’ll have to take note of that for any future amusement park visits.”

Haru giggled at the scene, finding it all quite amusing. The three girls had decided to take Aigis with them while they went around the park, in hopes of getting to understand the strange mechanical girl somewhat better. Akira, Ryuji, and Yusuke had gone off together, while Futaba and Ken, and Naoto and Fuuka were off in pairs in other parts of the park checking things out, while they had check-ins with those out in the surveillance van in Destinyland’s massive parking lot; though whenever their group checked it, it was usually Morgana crying “Lady Ann” to her at his sadness he couldn’t join them in the park.

Of course, besides all that, Ann had ulterior motives for bringing Aigis along with them. She moved up to the android and put an arm around her, a devious grin on her face.

“Hey Ai-chan… I was wondering, how do you feel about Akira?”

Aigis looked confused at the strange question but answered. “I only met him two days prior, but from my initial impressions of him, he seems to be a kind-hearted individual, and a rather stalwart leader for all of you. I am interested in finding out more about him as we become more familiar with one another.”

Haru and Makoto seemed confused by how Ann was suddenly bringing this up, but her doing so made Haru remember something. “Oh, if we’re talking about that, you were calling Akira by his first name despite the two of you just meeting. That seems quite strange.”

Aigis nodded. “For some reason, I feel it is more appropriate than being more formal than I usually am, Okumura-san. I am unsure why but I feel more comfortable doing so. He said he did not mind either, so I have continued to do so.”

Ann kept smirking to herself as Aigis went on, getting a little too excited. She was ready to keep probing her for more answers, but was interrupted as a familiar group of boys came up to them.

“Oh, hello Akira, Yusuke, and Ryuji!” Haru greeted them as they walked up to them. “How are you doing?”

“Well, we just saw Yusuke win an eating contest,” Akira answered. “It may have been the most disturbing thing I’ve ever seen.”

“...I’m still trying to figure out where the hell he’s keepin’ it all,” muttered Ryuji. “I mean look at him.”

Yusuke laughed, his figure still as slim as ever. “Ahahaha! My stomach is an endless void, they were fools to underestimate me so!... In fact, I still could use some more to eat.”

As everyone talked about Yusuke’s insatiable appetite, Akira approached Aigis, catching the androids attention.

“Hey Aigis, would you be okay with us going off and discussing what I asked if it was okay we talked about yesterday?”

“Oh, most certainly Akira, there are things regarding you and your nature as a Wild Card I was curious about myself, so I would quite like for us to have this discussion.”

The two began heading off together, only for Ann to shout after them as she noticed. “Hey, where are you two going?!”

Akira stammered out an answer. “Oh, me and Aigis are just gonna talk about some… Wild Card stuff. We’ll see you guys in a bit.”

They waved farewell to one another as Aigis and Akira set off on their own. Once they were out of sight though, Ann spoke up and caught everyone’s attention.

“Okay, now we’re gonna follow them!”

Everyone seemed surprised at that, Haru being the first to speak up. “Why would we do that Ann? Is there something going on?”

“Yes, that does seem quite strange,” Yusuke added. “I think Akira wants to have a private conversation with her, since she does have the same power as him. I don’t think he would appreciate our meddling.”

“I mean yeah,” Ryuji said. “He just said it was ‘Wild Card stuff’ didn’t he?”

“Oh my gooood, you guys,” Ann sighed, filled with exasperation. “I can’t believe I need to tell you everything.

“Okay first, remember when we had our school trips to Hawaii?”

Everyone nodded; of course they did. Ann then continued. “Okay, so only Ryuji was there for this, but there was one night when me and Ryuji ended up crashing in Akira’s and Mishima’s room because Ryuji got kicked out of his room because his roommate's girlfriend was in their room, and his girlfriend was MY roommate and she was the only one with a key so I was locked out and-”

“Wait, wait, I was a supervisor on that trip and that’s something that was very against the rules!” Makoto gasped in shock. “...I can’t believe I let something so foul slip under my nose. I feel ashamed…”

“Well, I mean, that’s all besides the point!” Ann said with a shrug. “That just sets up the situation. Anyway, we were chilling out and got onto talking about _romance_ , where Ryuji screwed up like always-”

“Hey, I thought my answer was pretty good!” Ryuji growled. “You only got saved from me asking what kinda guys you’d like because Mishima was shitting to death.”

“Your answer was TERRIBLE, Ryuji,” Ann huffed. “I’ll save you the embarrassment though and not tell everyone else.

“Anyway, I ask Akira ‘hey, what kinda girl’s your type’ and he’s like” - Ann crossed her arms and put on a very stony-voiced mocking of Akira - “‘I don’t have a type and now excuse me while I sleep on this couch with my glasses on because I’m so serious all the time’

“And that’s actually exactly what he did,” Ann remarked. “I mean I was surprised how well he slept over the sounds of Mishima probably almost dying.”

“What the hell does this gotta do with anything?” Ryuji asked, more confused than ever.

“What I mean is… Haven’t you guys realized how he’s acting around Aigis,” Ann sneered, suggestively raising her eyebrows. “I mean, c’mon, it’s pretty obvious... That she’s his type.”

A reaction of shock went through the rest of the Phantom Thieves at the revelation. Ann was loving every second of it, laughing maniacally. She was gonna have some fun with this.

“You do make a good point,” Haru remarked. “What about Aigis though? How do you think she feels about Akira?”

“Pff, I’m sure she’ll fall for him sooner or later, “ Ann said. “But I wanna have fun with this before it becomes a thing for real.”

“...Fun? In what way do you intend to have fun, Ann?” Yusuke asked.

“We have the perfect way to get under our usually so stoic and suave leader’s skin!” Ann chucked, almost scarily. “If he thinks we’re getting close to figuring him out, he’s gonna try so desperately to keep it secret. He already is right now, and I’m loving every second of it. I just wanna see how far we can push it.”

Ryuji retaliated the idea. “Dude, nah, I don’t wanna give Akira shit if he’s into her. Let’s just leave him alone. Right, guys?”

He looked to the rest of them, expecting them all to agree with him… Only for them to be somewhat more open to Ann’s side to things.

“I do think it would be enjoyable to tease our leader a little bit…” Haru giggled. “Not maliciously after all, but it would be fun.”

“This could bring out a whole new side of him,” Yusuke smirked. “The duality of man is a topic that interests me greatly.”

“Sorry Ryuji, but I’m along the same train of thought,” Makoto answered. “I don’t see the harm in us having a little fun at Akira’s expense.”

“Ah, screw you guys then!” Ryuji growled and started to stomp off. “You guys go ahead and spy on Akira, I’m gonna go do what we came here to do and see if I can’t find any damn Shadows!”

While Ryuji went off on his own, Ann looked at her teammates with a wicked grin and lead the way on their mission to snoop on Akira.

* * *

Ken Amada did not take roller coasters well. In fact, he felt like he was going to be ill after going on one of the more intensive ones in Destinyland after Futaba pushed him into riding it. All those loops, and twists, and all the dips and sudden drops. Even just thinking back on it, he felt like he was gonna throw up.

At least things had been uneventful so far; no weird Shadow activity. Of course, if they didn’t find anything, then that would make finding those missing kids even harder. So hopefully something would pop up soon, that would give them something, anything, so they could track them down.

Futaba Sakura was concerned about that as well, but something else had started to bother her as she thought about the previous day. Enough so she was sprouting a frown despite being in an amusement park that boasted it was “the happiest place on Earth”. It was when the two of them were somewhat away from the usual hustle and bustle of the park’s crowds that she turned around to Ken with a question.

“...Hey Amada-senpai, there’s something I need to ask you.”

Ken was pulled out of his own thoughts as he heard Futaba say that. She looked sad, but he had no idea why. “What is it Futaba?”

“...Yesterday, Aigis said she was at Shujin to observe Ryuji and Ann,” Futaba sadly intoned. “Were you doing the same for me at Gekkoukan?”

Ken froze up; he knew he should have tried to smooth this over before, to tell her the truth, but she figured it out herself. He managed to stammer out a response. “...I was at first, that’s how it started out… But….”

He was at a loss for words, he wasn’t sure how to put it at all; it sounded bad. Futaba didn’t take it well either.

“...Of course it was, I can’t make friends normally,” Futaba wept. “...I just need to be alone for a while.”

She walked off, Ken wanting to reach out and try and explain that she meant more to him than that, but he still felt all twisted up and torn up inside. Why couldn’t he tell her? This was horrible, and both of them felt the same way without knowing it.

Why did it hurt so much?

* * *

Akira and Aigis had found a good place to sit down and talk. Akira had started out with his experiences first, telling Aigis his whole story and time in the Velvet Room, the mechanical girl listening intently until he finished. She was quite interested in the whole affair.

“...I see, so Igor had been replaced by Yaldabaoth and he was manipulating your journey the entire time,” Aigis remarked with surprised. “That is quite disconcerting, to know even someone like Igor could be dethrone as such.”

“Yeah, but we got him back at least,” Akira said, “and he did help me out on my journey regardless; I’m not sure where we’d be without Morgana if Igor hadn’t created him honestly.”

“So, Lavenza had been split into two girls; Caroline and Justine,” Aigis continued. “But she was able to reach out to you and you helped to restore her previous form, which is what allowed you to topple Yaldabaoth’s control.”

Akira nodded. “Yeah, Lavenza was a huge help… You said she wasn’t always Igor’s assistant though right? You just met her?”

“Correct… I had not been to Velvet Room in over seven years,” Aigis explained. “It was surprising to suddenly be called back after all that time; and for my former attendant to have been replaced by her. She seems to be quite kind though.”

“...Your former attendant?”

Aigis continued. “Her name was Elizabeth… She was quite eccentric, but a very cheerful and bubbly sort. She showed up briefly to me during an incident a few years ago, but it was very strange then as well. I haven’t seen her since, but Lavenza said she was ‘indisposed’, though I am not quite sure what that would mean in their context.

“They all seem to be siblings though, the attendants of the Velvet Room,” Aigis commented. “Another Wild Card I met told me of his - a woman named Margaret - and she referred to Elizabeth as her younger sister.”

Akira closed his eyes, deep in thought and trying to take it all in. “So… The Velvet Room’s an elevator for you? I guess it makes sense that it would change for whoever its guest is, what with it being a place ‘between mind and matter’. It sorta got stuck as a prison for me because of Yaldabaoth, but at least I’m not locked in a cell or in a prison uniform when I’m there anymore. I guess it also sorta makes sense with the context I was visiting it though, so why is it an elevator for you?”

“...I don’t believe the elevator has importance to me as an individual,” Aigis hummed. “I believe it is as it is because of who I inherited this power from…”

That took Akira by surprise; that Aigis ‘inherited’ her power of the Wild Card. “...Wait, what do you mean by that?”

“...I am sorry, but I do not feel comfortable talking about that with you quite yet,” Aigis apologized. “It is of no fault of your own, but… It is a very personal subject to me, and they were a very important person to me. We have only just met, but eventually I may feel I can trust you enough to go into those details.”

Akira nodded; he didn’t want to pry into Aigis’s personal business. The way she phrased it in the past tense though… It made it sound like she had lost someone, someone she cared about very deeply. He didn’t want to make her upset even if he was curious to know more about how someone could ‘inherit’ the power of the Wild Card. Akira was okay with leaving it alone and just sitting back with her. He had begun to enjoy the robotic girl’s company, though maybe a part of that was because of how cute he thought she was, but regardless, she had somewhat of a comforting presence and Akira liked it.

* * *

Kaiya Natsuko was 8-years old and she had been very excited when her parents said they’d go to Destinyland during summer vacation. She had wanted to go so bad and go on all the rides a whole bunch and have tons of fun. It had been lots of fun, but a dark cloud hung overhead her day and she started to feel down as her parents started arguing about something.

She didn’t know what it was they were arguing about; she couldn’t really understand. Was it her fault? She felt she must have done something wrong. Her happy and joyous excitement was ruined though, and she felt like she was on the verge of tears. She held onto her mom’s hand so she wouldn’t get lost, but she saw something down a dark alley between some of the food stands and attractions that caught her attention.

Kaiya let go, her mom not even noticing the little girl letting go of her hand as stared into the darkness. A shadowy figure stood at the end, dressed like a clown in bright, colorful clothes, staring at her from behind a mask sporting a malicious smile. It rose its hand, a sharp, crooked finger motioning for the child to come closer.

This kind of thing would probably usually be terrifying to such a small child, but for some reason Kaiy felt taken by it, like it wormed its way into her head. She started walking toward the strange clown, slowly but surely.

* * *

Destinyland’s massive red ferris wheel was a popular attraction, both because it was said you could see the city for miles from its peak, and because it was pretty romantic stop for couples, to ride the slow-moving wheel and to be all alone together in a carriage away from anyone else. Fuuka’s heart was aflutter as she stared at the surrounding scenery from so high above and as she felt Naoto’s fingers locked with hers.

Fuuka turned her head to the girl sitting next to her, a blush outlining her bashful smile as they looked into each other’s eyes. “You know, I’ve always imagined getting to do this with someone I love… It feels even nicer than I could have dreamed.”

“I never thought of myself being taken by the romance so much,” Naoto chuckled, “but it’s quite nice to be taken away by it…

“It somewhat makes up for the fact we still haven’t discovered anything to help us forward this case,” she sighed. “I wish we could have found something, anything.”

Fuuka squeezed her hand a little tighter, looking to her sympathetically. “We’ll figure this out. I’m sure of it. I mean, we’ve always been able to when we work together.”

Naoto smiled. “You’re quite right, Fuuka. The two of us together… Sometimes I still have a hard time realizing that we are… But times like these are what make me happy that we are.”

Fuuka beamed at her, not sure if her smile could get even wider; the others would probably laugh at them at how ridiculously in love they were… But Fuuka loved to let herself get lost in it. She had always been so reserved and quiet as she grew up but she had always let herself fantasize about this kind of future, about finding someone she wanted to spend her life with… Naoto filled her with such a sensation and Fuuka couldn’t be happier about it.

Fuuka felt Naoto’s soft fingers on her cheek and her face started burning up and she realized how close the two of them were together now, literally. She let herself lean into it though, the two of them drawn to one another as their lips touched in a deep and wonderful kiss. Perhaps it was because she was letting herself be this true to herself, to her feelings in this moment, that her Persona reacted as such. That her happiness was suddenly pricked as she felt a terrible sensation shoot into her.

“Shadow!” Fuuka yelped, quickly pushing away from Naoto, her eyes wide with shock. “I’m picking up a Shadow!”

Naoto reacted as she did as Fuuka said as much. “What?! Where, can you specifically point it down?!”

Fuuka stood up in the ferris wheel carriage, desperately trying to pinpoint where the sensation had come from. “I- I can’t! I know it’s somewhere in the park though!”

Fuuka pulled her phone out, dialing up Akihiko.

* * *

Morgana let out an exaggerated yawn, trying to play up his boredom as he sat in the back of the surveillance van, surrounding by fancy tech and equipment, out in Destinyland’s parking lot. The back doors were opened up as Akihiko leaned outside as Koromaru stretched his legs outside, the dog happily barking away. Morgana could only wish his boredom could be so simply satiated; he was sorta envious of that dog.

“Hey Kikunoooo,” Morgana meowed at the purple-haired maid next to him. “I’ve just realized we’ve never talked, how are you doing?”

The maid stared back at him, her face showing absolutely no recognition of what the cat had just said. Morgana could only stare back as Chie started laughing.

“You know Saikawa-san isn’t a Persona-user right?” Chie said, biting down into a big piece of jerky. “She can’t understand a thing you’re saying.”

Morgana looked to Chie in shock. “Wait, really?! I mean, with how involved she is with the Shadow Operatives, I sorta just figured.”

“My apologies Morgana-sama,” Kikuno lamented, bowing her head at the feline. “I pride myself on my efficiency as a maid, but I can’t even understand you and any troubles you may be having.”

Morgana recoiled back at that; he wasn’t used to someone being so polite to him, it was sort of a shock. He laughed nervously. “It’s okay Kikuno-san, you’re trying your best!”

Akihiko chuckled to himself at the exchange going on inside the van until his phone suddenly rang: it was Fuuka. He answered it, bringing it up to his ear. “Hey Fu-”

He suddenly pulled it away as her and Naoto’s voices came crying from the other’s side. He tried to keep pace with them. “Wait, what’s going on - Shit.”

Akihiko leaped back into the van, barking orders. “Saikawa, boost the search strength, Fuuka said she’s picked up a reading of a Shadow!”

The maid nodded as the atmosphere of the van got tense as she boosted the equipment power. They were crowded around, trying to find a trace of something, anything; when it beeped, showing the faintest signal in a part of the park.

“Who’s nearest?” Chie asked as they figured out where it was.

Saikawa answered. “Let’s see… It should be…”

* * *

Ryuji Sakamoto walked the streets of Destinyland, his usual grumpy self while the rest of his friends spied on Akira. Ryuji couldn’t lie, he did sort of have a thing for Aigis back when he thought she was just a transfer student, but the robot thing wasn’t really his style. If it was Akira’s though, he wouldn’t judge his bro if that’s what he was into. He wasn’t gonna harass their leader for the fun of it while he was totally making the moves. What kinda respectable man would he be if he did?

It was then Ryuji’s phone started buzzing and he answered it nonchalantly, not expecting anything. What did catch him off guard was Morgana, Chie, Akihiko, and Koromaru all barking at him through it instead. He almost didn’t understand what they were saying, but he quickly caught wind of it: “Shadow”. There was a Shadow in the park. Right now, at this very instant.

“Shit, what?!” Ryuji yelled into the phone. “Okay okay, where the eff is it?!”

He took off sprinting as Kikuno took over, calmly guiding him in this time of crisis. Ryuji pushed his way - rudely but necessarily - through the dense summer crowds of the amusement park. Eventually he found a little alley between things that no one would usually would be able to go into because of how small the opening was and squeezed himself into it with some strain. It was then he saw it.

A little girl, who looked half-asleep and completely out of it, being led by the hand by _something_ ; something that was vaguely human-shaped but Ryuji could feel it in his gut it wasn’t, in those disturbing clown clothes and its own clawed monstrous hand that gripped the little girl’s hand back as it lead the way. Ryuji charged toward it with reckless abandon, he didn’t have the time to think if this was a good idea or not, he just knew there was some bad shit going on.

“Hey asshole!” Ryuji bellowed with rage, smashing into the Shadow’s back with a tackle. “Let go of that-”

Ryuji felt the words get stuck in his throat as the Shadow’s head turned around like an owl’s, that creepy mask staring straight at him as Ryuji’s charge did nothing to it. He could only stare in terror at the horrible smile etched onto the mask as it stared back at him. A Shadow in the real world; Ryuji wasn’t quite ready for something like this, he felt paralyzed with fear. The Shadow only let out a creepy giggle at the young man as a gigantic hand burst forth from its chest and wrapped around Ryuji, slamming him painfully into the wall.

Ryuji let out a yell of pain as it did, experiencing this kinda thing outside of the Metaverse was completely different than it usually felt. Everything ached, and as the hand released him, he could barely get back up to his feet while the Shadow just kept giggling that annoying-ass giggle. It was absolutely losing it, and the little girl it held onto barely reacted, still appearing as if she was sleepwalking.

It began to walk away, leading the little girl with it into a dark, shadowy corner. Ryuji’s adrenaline spiked; he couldn’t let this piece of shit get away. He charged toward it again, trying to throw his arms around it and the child… Only to get back arms full of air as they disappeared in front of his eyes into the shadows. With nothing there to support his lunge, Ryuji fell to the ground with a painful heavy thud. The frustration welled up within him as he realized what had just happened, what he had just let happen.

The Shadows had just taken another child.

* * *

_“Son of a bitch!”_

Ryuji slammed his fist into the side of the van again, his knuckles looking rough and beaten. The sun set over the parking lot of the massive amusement park, the day coming to an end. They had found nothing to help them forward and Ryuji was still beating himself up over what happened, how he failed. He slammed his fist against the van once more, his knuckles looking like they were about to crack open. It hurt like a bitch, but he didn’t care: he deserved this.

He was about to do it again to work out that frustration he felt, only for Ann to hold him back. “Stop it Ryuji! You’re gonna hurt yourself!”

“You think I don’t know that?!” Ryuji growled back, wrestling his arm free from Ann’s grip. “I fucked up! I coulda saved that little girl, but- but- but-.”

Ryuji cursed again, kicking the tire of the van hard, just desperate to work his anger at himself out on something. Everyone else looked at him with sympathy as they lamented it themselves, no one quite sure what to do. Mitsuru had arrived shortly after hearing what had happened, and Akihiko went to look into just who had gone missing, since by now the parents had surely noticed and were talking to park staff and the police.

Akira took it as hard as everyone else but he stared down at his phone, open to the Meta-Nav app. “Destinyland” worked as the location, which confirmed it was a Palace, but he still had no idea what the Person or Distortion was. He wracked his brain, trying to figure out something, anything, anyone, who could be it. He couldn’t come up with anything though, and frustration started building up in him like nothing else.

Akihiko finally returned with a sigh, looking to Ryuji. “Save your anger for when we find something kid. Wasting it on yourself isn’t gonna do you any good.

“Anyway, I found out who the missing girl is,” Akihiko began, catching everyone’s attention. “She’s eight years old and her name is Kaiya Natsuko-”

“One target confirmed. Please enter the remaining fifteen.”

Everyone was stunned silent, all of them turning slowly to the source of it; the phone in Akira’s hand. He stared at it in shock as the Meta-Nav app sounded off and listed the name “Kaiya Natsuko” on screen.

“W-what!?” Akira yelled, expressing what everyone else was feeling. “I- What? What the hell? Why?”

Morgana shouted out in as much shock. “Wait, the Palace has sixteen hosts!? But that… UGH, all the rules were being broken with that Hayato guy too!”

“That’s how many children are missing,” Naoto said. “So they must be…”

Naoto and Fuuka quickly listed off the remaining children to Akira’s phone, and one by one, all of them were correct. Finally all sixteen were listed and only one field remained; whatever the distortion was.

“What would a bunch of children see Destinyland as?” Yusuke pondered.

“Well, a Palace usually takes the form of your distorted desires right?” Haru said. “...What would that be for someone so young though?”

“It wouldn’t be distorted,” Akira burst out, as the pieces clicked into place. “Normal Palaces were formed by a person and how corrupt their perspective on the world is, but… These kids were forced into this so…

“Amusement Park.”

“Result Found. Destination confirmed, ready for travel.”

A big grin formed on Akira’s face, they had what they were looking for. It seemed everyone was similarly pleased that they finally had something to go off of. Ryuji especially was raring and ready to go.

“All right, what are we waiting for, let’s get going in there!” he exclaimed, wrapping an arm around Akira and looking at the phone.

Aigis shook her head, being the voice of reason. “That would be ill-advised Sakamoto-san. We should prepare first and then return later.”

Ryuji was ready to shoot back but Mitsuru cut him off with her authoritative presence.“Aigis is quite right; but you’re also right Sakamoto-kun. I know we’re all quite eager to try and resolve this, we won’t do those children any good if the worst were to happen to us, but if the Shadows are just taking the children while they’re in Destinyland now, that means they’re getting far bolder and more dangerous. All of you return home for the meanwhile and try get as much rest as you can, we’ll be returning here in several hours in the early hours of the morning, once there’s far less prying eyes around here.”

Mitsuru stepped forward, everyone following her lead as she continued her spiel. “I’ll arrange pickups for all of you at your homes and we’ll all head into together.

“We’re going to save those children.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MYSTERY, SUSPENSE, SOCIAL LINKS, this chapter had it all! Maybe. I have no idea. But hey, you got here, thank you very much for reading all this. Or scrolling down to the very bottom and not reading it at all for some reason. Anyway, let's go over some stuff:
> 
> -NAOTO AND FUUKA. Yeah I dunno, it got into my head one day and I couldn't get it out because I thought they'd be a very cute couple. I enjoyed writing it and hopefully you think it's cute too??? I just figured, they've known each other for over 5 years and if they got to know each other, there personalities would probably click really well with one another. Maybe it's a bit cracky but I'm in charge so WHAT I SAY GOES AHAHAHA. Let me have my cute blue haired lesbians please.
> 
> \- On their wardrobe/design choices for their older selves, I based Naoto off of Persona x Detective Naoto, since regardless of how it was received and it's popularity, I think Naoto's design in it is baller as hell. Meanwhile Fuuka's her P4A appearance mostly, but I always preferred her in a turtleneck because I thought it was way cuter.
> 
> \- Aigis finally makes her obvious appearance and joins Akira and Ken in the MC roster after I hinted at her awhile back. Labrys also makes a cameo! Yayyy! Aigis had a brief wardrobe change in this chapter, but she'll likely remain in her usual duds she wears in in P4A most of the time.
> 
> \- There was two Persona 2 references in this chapter, one very very obvious, and one very very minor ahaha. Can you spot them??? ;P
> 
> \- I started calling the P3 Protagonist by his manga name, Minato Arisato. I was originally gonna use his movie name, Makoto Yuki, but then I realized we'd have two Makotos and it might get confusing so yeah. I actually called him Makoto back in Ken's flashback in Chapter 1, but I'll be editing that soon ahaha.
> 
> I THINK that's all there is note. I might have forgot some stuff, but as always, please feel free to ask me any questions you have because I'm always happy to answer them. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter despite how ridiculously long it was. I probably coulda split it into multiple chapters but I'm terrible.
> 
> Anyway, what will await us next time? Will we finally find out who the mysterious man behind all this is? Will the Phantom Thieves and Shadow Operatives be able to save the kidnapped children? Will Akira finally go to bed????
> 
> Find out next time in Chapter 5: The Happiest Place On Earth!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, good to see you again! Don't worry I don't ever plan to do a note as big as the one at the beginning again. I'm just glad to see someone reached the bottom here! There's not really anything special to note here this time that I didn't already take care of at the top. I hoped you enjoyed this first chapter though and I hope to get work started on the next soon!
> 
> Oh and feel free to comment and tell me if I made any horrible grammar mistakes. I tried to be thorough but I mighta missed something!


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